A Marauder's Hogwarts
by Comfortably Grey
Summary: Marauders Era. Lily's friends and the Marauders' relationship throughout their Hogwarts' years. Please read authors note at begining of first chapter. Read and Review. Sirius/OC, James/Lily, Remus/OC, Frank/Alice Longbottom , Petter
1. Welcome to Hogwarts

**A/N: I did not write the sorting hat's song. Another author did and I really liked it. It was written by **_**afterall. **_**Hogwarts begins at 14, when most students would be starting high school, and first years are allowed to go to Hogsmeade with permission. **

All the first years were ushered in through the front doors of the magnificent castle. As they stood waiting in the Entrance a stern witch came to greet them.

"Good Evening and Welcome to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor House and Professor of Transfiguration. In just a moment you will all be sorted into one of the four houses of Hogwarts. When I call your name you will step forward, sit on the stool and place the hat on your head. When you have been sorted you are to sit at the appropriate House table." The witch walked out of the hall leaving the first years to talk amongst them as she made the final preparations.

-_Flashback-_

Cassidy Taylor, Alice Davies and Rebecca Smith sat in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express as they neared the school. They were all 14 and were first years, making the journey for the first time.

Cassi had chestnut brown curly hair and green/brown eyes (depending on the day), Alice had long, straight light caramel coloured hair with dark brown eyes and Becca had straight, shoulder-length blonde hair and light blue eyes, which sometimes looked grey. They sat and talked about the new school they would be going to.

In the hour that they had known each other they had become great friends, and were all hoping to be sorted into the same house. While they all came from wizarding families, Cassi was the only one that came from a "pure-blood" family. Cassi's parents weren't like most pure-blood witches and wizards, they didn't think that they were better than everyone because of their blood line, so she was comfortable with Muggles (non-magic people), Muggle-borns (witches and wizards with Muggle parents), and wizards with a long magical history.

The girls talked and laughed until the train came to halt in Hogsmeade Station. Then they gathered up their luggage and walked off the train. They put their luggage in a pile with the other First years' then followed the loud voice to a lake with boats floating along the shore.

The voice belonged to a large man who instructed them to sit 4 to a boat. The three girls sat in the first boat they saw and waited for someone to join them. Finally, a black haired girl, with a scowl on her face sat in the empty seat next to Alice. The ride to the castle was quiet; the three friends admired the scenery, the other girl scowled at everything, so no one tried to talk to her.

When they got to the castle they followed the gigantic man inside to the Entrance Hall.

-_Present- _

The witch returned and told all the first years to follow her. They walked through the double wooden doors into the Great Hall where four tables ran vertically each seating one of the houses and a fifth ran horizontally where the staff of Hogwarts sat, with Professor Dumbledore in the center.

Directly in front of the staff table was a stool with a ragged hat on it. All the students sat in rapt attention as the hat began to sing:

For all this past millennium

These furnishings antique

Have watched our school develop

But only I can speak.

So once again I welcome you

If you be young or old

And usher in another year

Of stories not yet told.

These tales are yours to tell

But stay, before you do,

And first allow me chronicle

What has preceded you.

It has been said for many years

And rarely e'er denied

That Gryffindor built a house that burned

With valiancy and pride,

And such was said of Hufflepuff

In legend oft' portrayed

That charity she did esteem

Diligence displayed.

Good Ravenclaw, I have been told

And seen with my own eyes

Sought wisdom, knowledge, valued truth,

Fought ignorance and lies.

In Slytherin's house will always go

Those determined striving few

Who though condemned by th'other three

To their own selves are true.

And what of you, new to these halls?

When all is taught and learned,

Will your name be one that's granted

Or a reputation earned?

I cannot say what is not known

And claim it to be true

If it be you who shape your house

Or th' house that changes you.

As the song ended the entire hall erupted in applause, and Professor McGonagall began to read out names. One by one the students walked up to the hat and tried it on.

"Abbot, Christine" _HUFFLEPUFF_

"Avery, Chris" _SLYTHERIN_

"Black, Sirius" The entire great hall watched as another Black walked up to the hat. "_GRYFFINDOR" _The Hall felt silent as the boy walked to the Gryffindor table grinning from ear to ear. After a few startled seconds the Gryffindors erupted in applause.

"Bulstrode, Cornelia" _SLYTHERIN_

"Collins, Mellissa" _HUFFLEPUFF_

"Connors, David" _RAVENCLAW_

"Cook, Martin" _SLYTHERIN_

"Davies, Alice" _GRYFFINDOR_

"Derby, Jade" _RAVENCLAW_

"Edwards, Gregory" _HUFFLEPUFF_

"Evans, Lily" _GRYFFINDOR_

"Harris, Samantha" _RAVENCLAW_

"Jones, Megan" _RAVENCLAW_

Long, Ross" _SLYTHERIN_

"Lupin, Remus" _GRYFFINDOR_

"McMurphy, Tracy" _RAVENCLAW_

"Pettigrew, Peter" _GRYFFINDOR_

"Phillips, Carter" _RAVENCLAW_

"Potter, James" _GRYFFINDOR_

"Rogers, Stefanie" _HUFFLEPUFF_

"Smith, Rebecca" _GRYFFINDOR_

"Snape, Severus" _SLYTHERIN_

"Taylor, Cassidy" _GRYFFINDOR_

"Turner, Rob" _HUFFLEPUFF_

"Walker, Kristie" _HUFFLEPUFF_

"Winters, Adam" _RAVENCLAW_

Alice and Rebecca grinned wildly as Cassi sat down at the Gryffindor table. Cassi recognised the girl that sat with them in the boat as Cornelia Bulstrode and thought that she definitely belonged in Slytherin. Cassi glanced to her right and realised that the red head girl, Lily Evans, was sitting next to her and looking lonely.

"Hey, I'm Cassidy Taylor." She said introducing herself to the girl, who turned to face her and smiled.

"I'm Lily Evans." Alice and Becca had stopped talking and looked at Lily.

"Hey, I'm Rebecca Smith, but pretty much everyone shortens it to Becca." Lily and Becca smiled at each other as Alice took her turn in introduction.

"And I'm Alice Davies."

Just as they finished their introductions, the Headmaster stood and said a few words, "Blubber, Squawk and Tweak" after going over a few of the simpler rules and then commenced the feast. Magically the gold plates, which it turns out, were new for that year, filled with every kind of food and instantly the students began to eat.

The girls talked about the excitement they felt for the coming year and the upcoming trips to Hogsmeade, as well as being in Gryffindor House. They chatted amicably with each other until the feast ended and prefects ushered the first years up to the common room.


	2. Snivellus

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews from _paramore1351_ and _confused (). _In response to _confused () _they start at 14 because I thought they would have been too young to start dating at 11 so i changed it to start at 14, that way there will be more drama. I think they will still go for the seven years, so their schooling will be the equivelant of highschool and college/university. After they can specialize as an Auror or Healer. Let me know what you think. **

**PLEASE CONTINUE TO REVIEW! now back to the story.**

There were eight new Gryffindors, 4 girls and 4 boys. The girls walked quickly talking excitedly while the boys walked slower, earning some comments from the prefects. Cassi noticed that the boys were also all friends and thought it was great that no one was left out. They were quite good looking, save for the shortest one who resembled a rat.

Finally they reached the Portrait of the Fat Lady, the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. One of the Prefects said the password, 'Mandrake', and the portrait swung forward to admit them. The common room was round and cozy with a fireplace and multiple tables and couches and armchairs.

Cassi, after looking around ran up the stairs to the girls' dorm after the others. They found that their trunks had been placed at the bottom of the beds that were to be theirs. Cassi's was farthest from the door on the right side, next to her, nearest the door, was Lily. Across from her was Alice and across from Cassi was Rebecca. They all looked at their beds with scarlet curtains hanging around the four posters, then preceded to inspect the bathroom, which was next to Alice's bed.

There were four shower stalls and four sinks, and a separate stall for a toilet. It was massive, perfect for four girls to share without getting in each others' way. We each claimed a sink and shower; Alice took the first one, then Rebecca, then Lily and finally Cassi. They took in every detail before settling down on their beds, changing from their school robes to their pyjamas.

Cassi wore silk scarlet boxer-like shorts with gold pinstripes and a tank top. Alice wore a lace trimmed cami and short set, the lace was a creamy yellow with deep red fabric. Becca wore a red t-shirt with red and gold plaid bottoms. Lily wore red capris and a tank top with gold stitching. The girls' pyjamas had been magically bewitched to change, in the same pattern, into the colours of the house they had been sorted into, as had their robes, which now bore Gryffindor insignia.

They settled on the floor with blankets and pillows and lots of candy they had left over from the train ride talking.

"So Lily who did you sit with on the way up?" Cassi asked taking a bite of a liquorice wand Rebecca had handed her.

"I sat with my friend Severus; he was sorted into Slytherin…" She trailed off as she remembered that her friend was in the rival house. The girls smiled sadly, only imagining what it would be like to have a friend sorted into a different house.

"At least we have each other." Alice commented trying to move away from the depressing nature the conversation had taken. "And what about the Gryffindor Boys? Anyone know anything about them?" Alice's eyes glinted excitedly as she looked at her new friends. Cassi guessed that Alice would become the number one gossip source here at school. Lily frowned evidently remembering something.

"Two of them, the ones with the black hair, shared a compartment with me and Sev, they were very rude…"

-_Flashback_-

Lily sat in a compartment on the Hogwarts express, trying to stop her self from crying, and ignoring the two rowdy boys that shared the compartment with her. Then, another boy entered the compartment, sitting across from Lily. This boy had black, greasy hair that hung in curtains around his face, this boy was known to Lily, he was Severus Snape, Lily's childhood friend.

He spoke to Lily, asking her what was wrong and trying to make her feel better, ignoring and being completely ignored by the other two boys. Then Severus commented on the school houses.

"I hope you're in Slytherin." Severus grinned at Lily, and despite herself, returned his smile. One of the boys in the compartment finally took notice.

"Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" He asked turning to the boy that sat across from him. The boy frowned.

"All my family's been in Slytherin."

"And I liked you too…"

"Maybe I'll break the chain." The two boys grinned at each other. "Where're you hoping to go?"

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart." The first boy pretended to raise a sword. Severus snorted. "Got a problem with that?" The boy asked turning to Sev.

"No, that's fine if you'd rather be brawny than brainy-" The second boy cut Severus off.

"Where're you hoping to go seeing as you're neither?" The two boys burst into laughter.

Lily stood up angrily, "Come on Severus, let's go."

As they left the compartment, one of the boys called out, "See ya, _Snivellus_."

-_Present_-

Lily replayed the entire scene for the girls, save for the part about Lily crying.

"Well I guess we know what they're all about now." Alice commented.

"Yeah, too bad they're such jerks." Becca agreed.

"I hate to say it, but it kind of seems like both parties were 'wrong' although they were mean." Cassi looked hesitantly at Lily, who nodded.

"I know, but they just…I mean calling him _Snivellus_, it's just awful, they're bullies."

"Yeah, well, bullying doesn't really work for me." Cassi raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"What are you suggesting exactly?" Alice asked.

"Oh nothing, just that we start learning some revenge hexes. People bullying friends just can't be tolerated."

"I concur." Becca nodded.

"Looks like we'll need to get to the Library." Alice grinned.

"Yes, yes we will." The girls burst into laughter at their plan to hex the first year boys.

"This is going to be a good year." Cassi added once they had semi-regained their composure.

"I'm so glad tomorrow is a Sunday, no classes on our first day here! How lucky is that?" Alice smiled. Lily yawned, it was 11 o'clock, they had been talking for over an hour.

"Lily now you're going to make me yawn." Becca commented as the girls yawned one after the other.

"Well I suppose we should get to bed…" Alice spoke the words that they were all thinking, all except Cassi.

"Yeah, probably…" The girls got up and went to the bathroom to brush their teeth and get ready for bed. Cassi joined them, thinking that she would be sleepy by the time they had finished, but she was wrong.


	3. You really suck at overviews

While all her friends lay asleep in their beds, Cassi tossed and turned in her bed. Finally, around 1am she fell asleep, only to be woken up 5 hours later by shrieks of laughter.

"Ughhhh, shut up!" Cassi groaned and pulled the side of her pillow over her ear. Seconds later the curtains around her bed were pulled back.

"Oh no you don't. Time to get up, come on Cassi." Lily and Alice were standing over her. They grabbed her arms and hulled her out of bed.

"No let me sleep, it's Sunday!" Cassi was letting her legs drag refusing to make their mission easy.

Suddenly they let go of Cassi and she fell to the floor, shocked she curled up, still unwilling to get up at 6:00 on a Sunday morning. Lily pointed her wand at Cassi.

"Aguamenti." A jet of water burst from Lily's wand and onto Cassi's face, immediately she jumped up.

"Ok, I'm up, I'm up! Jeez Lily, what's with the water, what time is it anyway?"

Becca, Alice and Lily were failing miserably at stifling their laughter as they looked at the sopping wet Cassi. Her hair was dripping and hung heavily around her face, her pyjamas clung to her completely drenched, through and through. Cassi shook her hair out of her face and the other girls burst into laughter.

"Well, I'm going to go dry off, and then I guess we should head down to breakfast, seeing as we're _all _up!" Cassi walked off into the bathroom. "And I am not going to be the one to clean up that water out there!"

That just sent the girls into another round of laughter; Cassi rolled her eyes and climbed into the shower to get warmed up. Then she dressed and went back to the bathroom to do her hair with the rest of the girls. It was a classic cool fall day; there was a slight breeze, a crisp sky and brightly shining sun.

All the girls dressed in jeans variation only in their tops. Alice wore a grey crew cardigan with a knit heart design and a pink tank top underneath. Lily wore a black tank top with a tan cable knit cardigan that had a soft hood. Becca wore a dark charcoal grey knit sweater with a shawl trim and a light blue camisole. Cassi wore a striped blue and ivory knit cardigan with a shawl collar and a navy blue tank top.

After half an hour the girls were finally ready to go to breakfast. They were just in the common room when Lily remembered that she had left a letter that she had written to her parents earlier that morning. Quickly she ran upstairs to get it from the top of her trunk. While she was upstairs the other girls saw the new Gryffindor first year boys leaving their dorm and walking out the portrait hole, presumably going to the Great Hall for breakfast.

The girls watched them, they were all smiling and laughing, three of them were quite good looking. One had shaggy black hair, another had shorter, messier black hair that stuck up at odd angles, a different boy had light brown short hair, the last boy had even shorter blondish hair and oddly resembled a rat.

A minute after they had left, Lily came running back down the stairs, letter in hand. Finally, the girls departed from Gryffindor Tower, and famished into silence, they walked to the Great Hall. Then they sat at their house table, and ate until they were filled.

"Well, what should we do today?" Cassi looked at Becca and Alice, who sat across the table from her, then at Lily who sat beside her.

"I want to go down to the lake." Alice answered.

"Yeah me too, I wonder how warm it gets in the summer." Becca added.

"I've got to go send a letter to my parents; I promised I would as soon as I was settled." Lily responded.

"I don't want to send anything just yet, I need something actually worth saying otherwise my mom will start imagining that I left something big out." Becca sighed.

"Yeah mine too." Alice grimaced at the thought.

"Alright, well I should probably check on my owl. So Lily and I can go up to the Owlery and you guys can go down to the lake, we'll meet there." Cassi suggested.

The girls nodded and then left the table, parting at the Entrance hall. They were half way to the Owlery when they saw three boys. Two of whom stood on one side of the corridor and one on the other. All three had their wands drawn and suddenly there was a flash of light and one of the boys fell to the ground. Then there was another flash and that boy also fell. Cassi drew her wand from the back pocket of her jeans and ran toward the boys.

The boy that was still standing bent over the one that was formerly standing next to him. When he heard the girls' footsteps he spun around wand still drawn. Cassi stopped and put her hands up. The boy lowered his wand. Cassi recognised him from the common room as one of the first years, the one with the longer shaggy hair.

"What happened? Are they alright?" Cassi asked the boy, Lily joined them then. Her eyes widened as she saw the boy on the ground across from them. She whipped out her wand and pointed it at the boy.

"What did you do to him?" She demanded, fury emanating from her. The boy was startled and without waiting for a response she rushed to the boy lying on the floor across the corridor.

Cassi raised her eyebrows and watched as Lily tried shaking him awake. She rolled her eyes, remembering that Lily was Muggle born.

"Lily, he's been hexed that won't work you need to know the counter-curse." Cassi glanced back at the boy who was still staring confusedly, she sighed. "Fortunately, there is a spell that will fix this. I'm pretty sure he's been body bound, but this should work even if it's not." Cassi pointed her wand at the body. "_Finite Incantatum_."

Suddenly the boy jumped to his feet, pointing his wand at the other standing boy. Instinctually Cassi raised her wand again, pointing it once more at the boy.

"_Expelliarmus_" His wand flew out of his hand and into the air, Cassi caught it mid-air. The other boy had also raised his wand and was pointing it at the other again, he was startled once more, but this time he made no move to lower his wand.

"Sorry, instinct." Cassi handed the boy beside Lily his wand back. "Come on, let's get going." The three of them started walking towards the Owlery once more. Lily and her friend were walking slightly ahead of Cassi.

The other boy reached out and grabbed Cassi's arm. She turned around to face him, strangely he took a while to let go of her.

"Do you mind?" He asked gesturing to his friend. Cassi looked at him coldly.

"If you use the hex, you should know how to undo it."

"I didn't hex him-" Cassi cut him off.

"But you did hex him" Cassi gestured to Lily's friend. "And it's the same hex. So you shouldn't have used it if you don't know how to undo it."

"I just copied that guy." He responded. Cassi studied his face for a short while before she spoke.

"Well then, it looks like your going to be spending some time in the Library." The boy looked horrified.

"Come on, please, you un-hexed him." His voice took on a kind of wine as he said the words. Cassi scoffed.

"Fine…" Cassi pointed her wand at the boy still lying on the floor, "_Finite Incantatum_. Now you owe me." Without another word Cassi turned and walked toward her friends.

"Wait! Who are you?" The boy called after her. Cassi didn't respond but kept walking, finally catching up with Lily.

James sprung up from the ground, looking at a bewildered Sirius.

"What happened? I didn't have a good angle from where I was. And who was she? Who were all of them, other than Snivellus of course?" Sirius shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"I have no idea." Sirius still had a dazed look in his eye.

"What d'you mean? You had a whole conversation with one of them!" Finally Sirius snapped fully out of it- whatever 'it' was.

"Well, she didn't tell me…" His voice trailed off and James raised his eyebrows as he dusted himself off.

"Did you ask?"

Sirius gave James a look that clearly said 'How dumb do you think I am?' "Of course I asked her, although she was already walking away, but still, she didn't answer."

"So she just didn't want to answer then. What year was she in do you think?"

"I'd have to say first, her friend didn't seem to know anything, although she could be second and the other two in first. We know that _Snivels _is a first year though."

The two boys began walking toward the Great Hall, back to their other friends, Remus and Peter, whom they had left near the lake to scout out a good tree while they went to do some reconnaissance on _Snivellus. _

"So a first or second year, that narrows it down I guess." The boys wandered back to the grounds looking around in search of their friends.

They finally saw their friends sitting under a beech tree on the edge of the lake. It was the perfect tree. Wide and comfortable to lean against, which Remus was already taking advantage of, and had large, thick foliage that provided more than adequate shade. Not to mention the fact that it was the closest tree to the lake, and had a gorgeous view.

The boys sat down next to their friends under their new tree, a befuddled look still on their faces. Remus took notice as he had glanced up from his book and, marking his page, set it aside. Peter turned to face the two boys that had joined them.

"So, what happened on your mission?"

"More like what didn't happen." James muttered.

"What was that?"

"Well we met up with Snivellus and then we got into a bit of a battle, just words, until the end of it anyway." Sirius started.

"Yeah and then Snivels decided to hex me, stupid Body Bind curse, missed everything." James started off mad and trailed off at the end.

"I'm sorry, but we missed everything too." Remus commented. Peter nodded vigorously.

"Right, sorry, so Snivels hexed James and then I hexed Snivels with the same curse." Sirius continued.

"Nice job hexing, Sirius." Peter grinned, this time Remus nodded, although he was more hesitant, sensing that this was not the end of the story.

"Yeah but that's not the end of the story." James interjected.

"Um, James maybe I should tell this part, seeing as you were on the ground and couldn't see or hear anything." James nodded so Sirius continued recounting the story. "So then right after I hex Snivels, and both him and James were on the ground, this girls runs up. And she was concerned for _both _of them. So then another girl runs up and she was _freaking _out because of Snivels.

"And then she was trying to shake him awake, he was body bound, Muggle Born I think, but anyway the first girl told her that it wouldn't work and she _un-hexed _him. So he instantly springs to life (not that he was dead) and gets ready to hex me. The girl disarms him, then mutters something about _instinct _and hands him the wand back. And _then _they were all going to leave, just leave with James still body bound. So I ask the girl that un-hexed Snivels to help with James, I didn't know the counter curse. And she says that if I didn't know how to undo the curse then I shouldn't have used it-"

"She does have a point with that." Remus said, absorbing all the facts.

"Never mind, so then she finally decided to undo the hex, and before she leaves she says 'Now you owe me.' And she just walked away, and when I asked she didn't even tell me her name."

James shook his head, "You know Sirius you really suck at overviews." Sirius looked genuinely offended.

"Hey, it was all important."

"Sure, but I noticed that you conveniently left out the part where you _whined _for her help, and that's why she _decided _to help you." Remus and Peter burst into laughter and James grinned wildly. Sirius was embarrassed but smiled with them.

"Well I could've done it myself, I did hear the spell she used on Snivels, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to get to know some of the girls here." Sirius raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh sure…so she was good looking then?" James asked as Remus went back to his book knowing that once the conversation about girls started, there was no going back. Sirius had been gazing off in the direction of the school when he next spoke.

"Well Jamesy why don't you take a look for yourself?" He said gesturing to a group of four girls sitting under a tree not to far from their own. From the looks of it two of the girls were joining the others, the two girls that Sirius had spoken with earlier.

_So they have a similar system to ours, huh. Split up into two groups… _Sirius thought. He guessed that Snivellus went back to the Slytherin common room or something because he wasn't with the girls anymore.

James followed his gaze to the girls and tilted his head trying to get a better look and assessing them. Remus had set down his book to look as well, Peter copied James' movements. The four boys sat staring at the Gryffindor first year girls, though they didn't know who they were.


	4. Pros and Cons

After Lily and Cassi sat down they filled in Becca and Alice on the incident in the corridor. Alice was thoroughly intrigued by the latest gossip.

"How do you know those spells?" Becca asked.

"Better yet, were they good looking?" Alice said sounding as though she was watching a soap opera rather than questioning her friend.

"Well, my dad, he works in the Department of Mysteries, so does my mom, anyway he wanted me to know basic spells, most that I know are defensive and a few counter-curses. He let me use his wand to practice; he wanted me to know how to look after myself."

"And the boys?" Alice pressed.

"Uh, guys it looks we have an audience." Lily was glancing over at a beech tree by the lake. Cassi, Becca, and Alice joined Lily; Cassi groaned and rolled her eyes.

"He wants to know who I am." Cassi waved looking right at the boy she spoke with earlier. Alice smacked Cassi arms.

"Cassi don't wave! Now they know we were looking at them."

"Alice they were looking at us first." Becca pointed out.

"One of them waved back. The one that was on the ground I think." Lily narrated the scene that the other girls were missing in their argument. Cassi turned her attention back to the boys.

"No that's the one I spoke with; it's the other one with the glasses that was on the ground." Cassi corrected. "Why don't we go for a walk, preferably away from them?

Sirius waved back when the girl that he spoke most to waved.

"Uh-oh they know we're watching." Peter said nervously.

"Yeah but they seem cool with it." James replied.

"Um James, if they're so cool with it why are they leaving?" Remus asked.

"Maybe their just going for a walk?" Peter suggested.

"Yeah, a walk, far, far away from here." Remus responded.

"Remus you're too negative. At least they know who we are, I think we left an impression, don't you Jamesy?" The boys continued watching as the girls walked away.

"Which one did you talk to anyway?" James asked as Remus went back to his book.

"The one with curly brown hair, the one with red hair was with her too."

The girls walked toward the greenhouses, closer to the school.

"So the Gryffindor boys, huh?" Alice's face screamed excitement.

"Alice! You realise that they were staring at us like we're an exhibit at a zoo, right?" Becca looked at her incredulously as they walked.

"But that means that they noticed us."

"I'm sure there are way cuter guys here than them Alice." Becca responded.

"Yeah, plus they're jerks." Lily said bitterly.

"Lily none of us know them well enough to make an accurate assessment. But, based on what we know, what do we think of them?" Cassi asked as they came to a bench over looking the grounds and the Forbidden Forest where they sat to continue their discussion.

"Well we know that they're good looking." Alice said brightly.

"Ok so that's a pro." Cassi commented.

"We also know that they enjoy picking on my friend." Lily practically snarled. None of the other girls commented as they knew Lily was in a 'mood'.

"So then that's a con. 1, 1 right now."

"They also stared at us." Becca added.

"Is that a pro or a con? Alice thinks pro, and Lily thinks con." Cassi asked judging from the looks on the two girls faces.

"We should probably put it under both…Oh and they're Gryffindor so that's definitely a pro." Becca answered.

"I have to agree with you there, so that's 3 pros and 2 cons." Alice smiled smugly, but Lily was not ready to back down.

"Cassi you haven't added anything."

"Ok, I have to add a con; they used hexes without knowing how to undo them."

"So that brings us to a tie. 3 pros, 3 cons. Where does that leave us?" Alice asked.

"It leaves us needing more information. We'll have to just wait and see." Cassi shrugged and the girls sat in silence for a few minutes, each contemplating their own thoughts.

"Well we have classes tomorrow so we should probably explore inside this afternoon, find out where the library is and some of the classrooms-"

"And the Hospital Wing." Cassi interrupted Alice as she ran through the list of places she wanted to find.

"What!" Lily looked shocked that Cassi said they should find the hospital wing.

"Just in case someone gets hurt or sick, it'll be good to know where it is. And we'll probably find it when we're wandering around anyway."

"Well, what time is it now?" Alice asked

"About 11:30, so we still have like half an hour before lunch. You know, I think I'd like to go see the Owlery, I'll have to find it some time, might as well find it now." Becca answered.

"Yeah, and maybe we'll meet some boys, since you guys did last time." Alice's eyes had excitement twinkling in them as she jumped up eagerly.

"Well I wouldn't mind going up again, what about you Lily?"

"Meeting some more boys could be fun."

The girls set off for the Owlery, chatting about boys that they had seen or the classes they were excited for…and the ones that they weren't (History of Magic mainly), and of course, the up coming Quidditch matches. When they had climbed up to the loft area where the owls live, Cassi walked straight to her owl in the far corner.

The other girls looked around and walked between the rows of owls admiring them. Becca followed Cassi to see her owl.

"Hey Panda." Cassi said holding out her arm, a chocolate brown and white spotted owl hopped onto her arm.

"Her name's Panda?" Becca asked stroking the owl gently with one finger.

"Well her full name's Pandora, but I just call her Panda most of the time."

"She's really cute, and friendly." Panda leaned into Becca's touch, if she was a cat, she would be purring.

"Sometimes, but others she'll try to claw someone's eyes out or bite their fingers off." Becca paused mid-stroke and Panda hooted to show her annoyance, Becca almost jumped out of her skin she was so scared. "Of course she's never been successful, and she likes you. You wouldn't have been able to get within a foot of her if she didn't. That's why her name's Pandora; she can be quite evil when she wants to." Panda hopped from Cassi's arm to Becca's who continued to stroke her.

"I see, so are you going to send a letter home?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I'll probably send one tomorrow after we get our timetables."

"I think I'll join you on that."

Just then Alice and Lily joined the other two girls.

"Well, we've seen the Owlery; shall we head to lunch now? By the time we get to the Great Hall it'll be past 12." Alice suggested.

The girls agreed, all of them more than ready for lunch. Becca handed Cassi her owl back, which in turn placed Panda on her perch and the four girls headed out the door en route to the Great Hall.

They were chatting amicably, talking this time about what they would do on their first Hogsmeade trip. Alice wanted a date, Lily said that she promised her friend, Severus, that she would spend the day with him, just the two of them so they could catch up, Becca and Cassi just wanted to explore the Wizarding Town. Before they knew it they were at the doors to the school.


	5. Names

The girls entered and walked into the Great Hall where many students were already eating and many more were just getting there. They hurried over to the far left table and sat down near the end.

On the long Gryffindor table was tons of food. Today's lunch was pasta, of every kind, there was spaghetti Bolognese, macaroni and cheese, penne primavera and many others. Cassi helped herself to the penne and sprinkled some shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Lily, Becca and Alice all chose the macaroni and cheese, "a classic" Becca said as an explanation.

When they were half way done their lunch, four other familiar faces walked into the Great Hall. Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew made their way over to the Gryffindor table. Sirius and James walked in front of Peter and Remus. As they neared the Gryffindors Sirius whispered in James' ear.

"Shall we sit with the girls? I guess their Gryffindors, huh?" James nodded also recognising the girls. Sirius walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat beside the girl he spoke to earlier in the day.

Cassi was sitting beside Lily, who was sitting across from Alice. Becca sat across the table from Cassi on the inside. Sirius sat next to Cassi and James sat next to Becca, unsure of themselves, Peter and Remus took the seats next to James and Sirius.

"Long time no see." Sirius said to Cassi, though they did not know each others' names. Cassi turned to face him and her eyes narrowed.

"I guess if you consider a few hours a long time." Cassi regarded him coldly and all the other girls were silent, watching awkwardly and eating. The boys began to serve themselves and Cassi continued eating.

"I was being sarcastic."

"Oh I know." Sirius nodded as he helped himself to some penne. He was silent for a few a few moments. Cassi looked over at Sirius.

"What do you want?"

"To eat, I'm starving." Sirius replied taking a bite of pasta. Cassi rolled her eyes and went back to her food. Their area of the table sat in awkward silence for a while.

Cassi sighed before she spoke. "So what are your names?" Cassi said looking at James and Remus who sat across from Sirius and Peter.

"James Potter." He said with a smile.

"Remus Lupin." The second boy said politely, Cassi returned their smiles and looked past Sirius at the quiet boy sitting next to him.

"Peter Pettigrew."

Once again Cassi smiled and then went back to her pasta, all the girls were almost done, just a few noodles left.

"Aren't you going to ask my name?" Sirius asked.

"No, you're really hungry and I wouldn't want to interrupt your eating." James sniggered at his friend's shocked face as Cassi helped herself to a brownie she noticed her friends were whispering and laughing quietly to each other. Becca smiled and gave Cassi a thumb up; obviously they were enjoying this more than she was. They were also on their dessert and they exchanged a look that communicated their plan:

They would leave without answering any of their questions as soon as they were done dessert. They would leave a little mystery, play with their minds.

Becca nodded and whispered to the other girls.

"Seriously, you're just not going to ask me? That's kind of rude, don't you think?" Cassi looked at her friends and they nodded telling her that they were ready to go. Becca spoke so that the boys could hear her.

"Well we should really get going." Cassi smiled and nodded.

"Yes, we should. See you guys later." With that the four girls got up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall, fully aware that the boys were watching their every move, the unknown boy's face still shocked.


	6. Exploration

As soon as the girls left the Great Hall, Lily, Alice and Becca started laughing. Cassi smiled and the girls continued walking.

"Did you see his face? It was priceless! He was completely shocked." Lily laughed.

"And now we know their names, well most of them. James and Remus are cute!" Alice commented.

"Oh Alice, what are we going to do with you!" Becca and Cassi rolled their eyes dramatically, still smiling.

Unconsciously the girls made their way up to Gryffindor Tower.

"Password." The Fat Lady asked in her high voice.

"Mandrake." Cassi said at once. Immediately the portrait swung open and the girls stepped into the Common Room.

They walked over to one of the couches close to the fireplace. Alice, Becca and Lily sat down on the couch and Cassi sat in the arm chair next to it. Originally the chair was facing the fire in the opposite direction of the couch, but she turned it around. It was the only chair close to the couch.

"So where should we start?" Alice asked as soon as they sat down.

"I say we start at the library."

"Some how I just knew you were going to say that, Lily." Cassi grinned.

"We need to know where it is!" Lily said defensively.

"Alright we'll go to the library but not first." Becca said

"Good idea. How about we start on the 7th floor since we're already here and just walk around making our way down to the Library?" Alice proposed.

"Well shall we get started?" Cassi said hopping up from her chair.

The girls got up and left the common room. Wandering around the seventh floor which was home to the Ravenclaw head's office, and the Arithmancy Classroom, it was also rumoured to have an entrance to the headmaster's office, though only students that had been escorted to the office and teachers knew where it was.

Next was the sixth floor which had the Study of Ancient Runes Classroom and Professor Slughorn's second office.

The only interesting thing of the fifth floor was the prefects' bathroom, of course the girls knew this only by word of mouth as the entrance to the bathroom itself was hidden.

On the fourth floor were a storage room and the library. The girls headed into the library and began looking at some of the books. Cassi wandered around looking at all of the sections and eventually ending up at the gates to the restricted section.

Lily, Alice and Becca were looking at a charms book so Cassi decided to get a book and read for a while. She grabbed the first book off the shelf she could find and sat down in an armchair next to the table her friends were sitting at.

_Novice Transfiguration: A complete guide_ was the book that Cassi had chosen; she flipped through the pages not entirely feeling like reading and so was looking for pictures. Of course the one book she chose was in tiny print and had virtually no pictures. The only one she saw was an image of the author, and old wizard with horn rimmed glasses and a bald head, though he had a massive white beard and bushy eyebrows.

After a few minutes Cassi gave up on reading and snapped her book shut. Standing up she saw that her friends were avidly reading their book. When she glanced at the book she saw that it had diagrams of wand motions and the results of all the spells. Cassi rolled her eyes _they would get the good book _she thought.

"I think I'm going to go keep exploring, I just can't sit and read right now. Plus we'll be doing that for the rest of the year." Cassi mumbled the last part.

"Did you want us to come with you?" Becca asked as all the girls looked up from their book, Cassi smiled.

"No, I'm just going to walk around the lower levels. I'll come back here after and see if you're still here, if you're not I'll just go to the Common Room."

"Alright we'll see you later then."

With that, Cassi returned the book to the shelf she took it from and headed for the door of the library. As soon as she got out the door she literally bumped into someone.

"Oh…sorry." She said still shocked about what happened.

"Sorry." The other person mumbled. When Cassi looked up she recognised the student she bumped into.

"Remus Lupin, right?" Cassi smiled up at the boy.

"Yeah, I don't believe you told us your name." He commented.

"Well your right." Remus looked at her expectantly.

"You're not going to tell me?"

"I would, but I'm pretty sure you would tell your friend."

"I assume you mean Sirius." Remus said before realising that he gave away his friends identity.

"His name's Sirius, then? Good to know." Remus looked worried that his friends would be mad at him. "I won't tell him that you're the one that told me."

"Thanks, but Sirius Black will figure out your name eventually."

"I know. I guess since you told me your name…and your friend's…I should tell you mine. It's Cassidy Taylor." Remus smiled at her.

"Nice to meet you Cassidy. I won't tell Sirius your name."

"Don't worry about it, like you said, he'll find out eventually. Although don't tell him until I tell him that I know his name, I'm pretty sure it'll drive him crazy."

"You're probably right."

"Where are the other three anyway?"

"Well I told them that I wanted to check out the Library, James and Sirius practically ran in the other direction with out a word. Peter went with to the Common room; I get the impression that he doesn't really like books. Where's you're group?"

"In the Library reading a book. I didn't feel like sitting though so I'm going to explore the lower levels of the castle, we've already looked around the higher ones."

"Alright well, I guess I'll see you in the Common Room later then."

"Yup, see you later."

Remus went into the Library and Cassi walked down the stairs to the third floor. She walked past the Charms Classroom, a statue of a One-Eyed Witch, a trophy room, the Defence against the Dark Arts Class and the Hospital Wing.


	7. Nothing Impressive

Cassi walked down the stairs to the second floor quickly becoming bored walking around alone. She was walking by the DADA Professor's Office when two boys came running around the corner smashing right into her and knocking them all off their feet.

One of the boys offered her a hand up, which she took with out realising who offered it. Only when she got up did she recognise the face.

"You again!" Sirius said happily.

"Yes, it's me again. Thank you for knocking me over by the way!" Cassi said irritated that she ran into these boys.

"Yeah, sorry about that." James said apologetically.

"What were you two running from anyway?"

"Nothing." Sirius answered as James looked around the corner they had just come around.

"You really should work on that whole lying thing, Sirius."

"How do you know my name?" Sirius sounded shocked and impressed at the same time, it was quite amusing to Cassi, she was right after all.

"I have my sources." Cassi shrugged nonchalantly. Sirius' eyes narrowed slightly.

"So what's your name, you know all of ours but none of us know yours." Sirius said James once again looked around the corner.

"Well that's just not true." Cassi smiled at the look of confusion on Sirius' face.

"What do you mean it's not true? None of us know your name." James said turning back to face Cassi.

"One of your friends knows my name."

"Remus" Sirius said under his breath.

"Yes actually it is Remus, he's nice unlike you two…" Cassi trailed off.

"Harsh, you don't even know us." James had turned his full attention to the conversation and forgot to check the corridor.

Just then Argus Filch, the caretaker they had been introduced to on their first night, came around the corner.

"You two…" He glared at the two boys, but they were calm acting as though they had done nothing wrong.

"Who us?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, you two and your dung bombs in the Entrance Hall." Filch continued glaring at the two boys.

"It wasn't us." James said.

Then Filch turned to Cassi, who was looking thoroughly confused and curious, "How long have they been talking to you?"

Filch had turned his back on the boys, and Cassi looked past him at the boys. Sirius and James both looked pleading, hoping that Cassi wouldn't rat them out. Sirius showed her with her hands 20, Cassi interpreted it as 20 minutes.

"About 20 minutes, sir. What happened with the _dung bombs_ go off?" Cassi pretended that she wasn't entirely sure that she heard _dung bombs _correctly. Filch grimaced and turned back to the boys.

"So it's not you this time. But I'll get you, your going to be trouble…" And mumbling to himself he continued walking down the corridor. Once he was out of earshot the boys turned to look at Cassi.

"Thanks, um I would use your name but I don't exactly know what it is." Sirius said still stuck on the name.

"Talk about one track minds! You're still stuck on the name."

"Well names are important." James pointed out.

"Oh fine, my _name_ is Cassidy Taylor."

"Well then thank you, _Cassidy_ for getting us out of detention." Sirius said with a half smile.

"You're welcome." Cassi smiled at them.

"Why'd you do it?" James asked curiously.

"Why'd I tell Filch what I did?"

"Yeah why'd you lie for us?" Sirius asked.

"I did not _lie _I simply have horrible estimation skills."

"Interesting, I didn't really think that you were the type." James added Cassi raised her eyebrows.

"Oh and what type am I?"

"Uh the awesome type?" Cassi laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever…what exactly did you guys do anyway?"

"Set off a few dung bombs in the Entrance Hall." Sirius shrugged.

"So nothing impressive then." Cassi said wiping the smiles off their faces.

"And what do you know about impressive pranks?" James asked.

"I'm not the type remember?" The three of them began walking up the stairs to the third floor.

"So where are your friends?" They walked around the corridors, Sirius between James and Cassi.

"Same place as Remus, the Library, I swear Lily's going to be one of those crazy studiers."

"Which one's Lily?" James asked curiously.

"The red head you were staring at during lunch." Cassi said matter-of-factly. James turned a light shade of pink.

"I wasn't staring!" James protested.

"Sure…Look, I really don't care, but just to let you know she kind of hates your guts."

"What? Why?" James was taken aback, he hadn't realised that he did anything worth hating.

"Because you two made fun of her friend, and then hexed him, although that would technically be Sirius' fault since you were hexed too. But the way she looks at it is that you deserved it. So she hates your guts."

"Well she's not even that pretty, anyway!" James huffed as Sirius sniggered.

"Definitely there are probably tons of hot girls at school."

"You know Cassidy; it's really annoying when you agree with me." James commented.

"Then it's a good thing we're not friends."

"And here I was thinking you were my friend." Sirius said feinting offence.

"You wish." Cassi said, amusement playing in her eyes. They had come to the fourth floor and stopped in front of the Library. "Well I guess I'll see you guys later."

"Leaving already? Where to?" Sirius asked, shocked.

"Uh the library…to go see my friends…and Remus." Cassi said as though it could not be anymore obvious.

"How do you know we don't want to go see Remus too?" James asked. Cassi smiled shaking her head.

"I spoke to Remus earlier, he said you two practically ran when he mentioned going to the Library. I also doubt you do since you hadn't thought of it, so I'll see you guys later." Cassi turned toward the door and walked in, leaving the two boys gawking.

When she got to the table where they sat she noticed that Remus had joined them on one side of the table, the three girls all sat along the other side of the table. They smiled when they saw Cassi coming toward them and she sat down beside Remus.

"Hey guys."

"Hey Cassi how was your exploring?" Lily asked, in the middle of the table was a book, open to a page that was a diagram of a unicorn and magical uses.

"Well it was…interesting."

"Did you happen to see James or Sirius? I know Peter's in the common room but I'm supposed to meet them in like, 5 minutes on the grounds, but you never know with those two…" Remus said as he glanced at the clock hanging on the library wall.

"Yes actually I did, actually they were just outside the library when I came in." Just then Sirius and James walked up to their table.

"Remus come on let's go, I knew you would forget once you got in here." James said completely ignoring the girls.

Remus stood up, "I didn't forget James." Then turning back to the girls he said, "I'll see you guys later."

Sirius, who had been standing off to the side for a while spoke next, "Remus, aren't you going to introduce us to your friends?" Cassi's eyes narrowed as she thought about his motive for asking the question.

"Uh, sure, Sirius, James this is Alice, Lily, Rebecca and Cassidy." Remus gestured to each girl in turn.

The girls smiled and nodded as Remus said their names, well, all except Lily, who had no expression on her face. Sirius and James did the same smiling at each of them.

"Hey you again!" Sirius said as soon as Remus said Cassidy's name, Cassi rolled her eyes, she could see this turning into a routine. Every one else in the room looked shocked and confused, even James, although he some what understood the comment.

"Well nice to meet you all, we'll see you around." James said as he and Remus turned to leave. Sirius locked eyes with Cassi for a few seconds before turning to leave with his friends.


	8. Garden Gnomes

Once they had gone, the girls looked to Cassi, curiosity and surprise all over their faces.

"What was that about?" Alice asked. Cassi glanced over her shoulder to where the boys had disappeared.

"I have no idea." Cassi turned back to the table, but she wasn't seeing her friends, she was deep in her mind, trying to make sense of Sirius' actions.

"Well I'm tired of sitting in here, why don't we go for a walk around the lake?" Becca suggested snapping the open book shut.

"Oh, what time is it?" Lily asked suddenly.

"Random much?" Alice said looking at her as though she was crazy.

"No, no really what time is it? I'm supposed meet Sev." Lily looked almost frantic.

"Its 3:20, what time were you supposed to meet him?" Becca said after glancing down at her watch.

"3:15! I'm late, sorry guys I've gotta go!" Lily practically sprinted from the library without waiting for a response.

_Yup, Lily is definitely going to be one of those crazy studiers. Just how crazy though? The whole 'OMG! I'm 5 minutes late' thing is without a doubt going on the crazy side. _Cassidy thought as she gazed after her friend. _Déjà-vu!_ She was just looking there, like 2 seconds ago, after Sirius, James and Remus left.

"And then there were three." Alice commented as Cassi turned back to face her friends. Becca seemed to still be recovering from shock.

"Yup, so we're walking around the lake then?" Cassi asked getting up from the table.

"Yes. And maybe you can tell us about Sirius?" Alice was all about gossip, she had this odd need to know pretty much everything about anything social. She loved to know what was happening, who was dating who and who broke up with whom, the angst and drama was practically her food.

"Oh Alice is that all you think about?"

"Uh, yeah" Smiling the three girls left the library, Becca had put the book back on the shelf, and now they began walking down the four flights of stairs that would eventually end in the Entrance Hall.

Cassi didn't really want to tell Alice or anyone about the encounter with Sirius and James. It wasn't that she didn't like them, or didn't trust them, she did. She just wanted some time to think it over in her head, figure out what she thought about them and well, everything. She decided that she would put off telling them until she was ready to.

Once they had gotten down to the Entrance Hall they were talking about all the people they would meet and few cute guys they had seen in the library. It seemed that Alice had forgotten all about Sirius and James.

They walked down to the black lake; the light breeze blew across the surface creating a small ripple near the shore. A short way off, some boys were passing around a Quaffle, trying to psych each other out and make them drop ball.

"Hey, see those guys over there? They came into the library earlier, they are _so_ cute. Well they're not _hot_ like Sirius and James, but they are super cute!" Alice whispered excitedly, as though she thought the boys, who were at least 40 feet off, would hear her.

"You are so lucky Lily didn't hear that!" Becca commented looking pointedly at Alice, who was in the middle of the group.

When they had just barely passed the group of boys, one of them called out.

"Heads up!"

Cassi spun around toward the voice to see a Quaffle heading straight for her chest. Her eyes widened in shock and her hands went up to her chest and caught the ball as the boy ran up to the group.

"Hey, uh, nice catch." Cassi looked down at the ball in her hands before smiling and looking back at the boy.

"Thanks." She said turning it over in her hands. "Nimbus Fireline Quaffle?" The boy was shocked that Cassi knew the exact brand of the Quaffle, even though the insignia had been completely worn off.

"Yeah, actually, how'd you know?"

"The stitching pattern, I used to have one until a couple garden gnomes got a hold of it." The boy smiled and nodded.

"Ah, garden gnomes, pesky little things; I lost a good pair of gloves and goggles to them. I'm Carter by the way."

"I'm Cassidy."

"I'm Alice."

"And I'm Rebecca." Carter smiled and nodded at each of them.

"Carter, what's taking you so long?" One of the other boys called to their friend. They had gathered in a small circle and were talking, presumably about the three girls and Carter.

"You should probably head back." Cassi said handing the Quaffle back to him.

"Yeah, probably…I'll see you guys around then." He had glanced back at his friends when one of them called out again.

"Hey Carter, bring your new friends!" Carter turned back toward the girls.

"Want to come over? They'd love to say hi." Cassi looked to her friends, trying to figure out what they wanted to do.

"Well, we've really got nothing to do…" Alice started, but trailed off allowing her friends to input their own opinions. The way Alice phrased her comment she told her friends that she would like to go over, but, if they didn't want to it was still possible to back out.

"That's true, and Lily's somewhere, so…" Becca added her opinion and Cassi nodded.

"Looks like we'll come say hi." Carter smiled and led the way over to his group of friends. Alice and Becca smiled excitedly to each other.

As the girls and Carter came closer, the other boys spread out of their close circle into a misshapen line. They were all good looking, _cute_ as Alice said.

"So this is Adam, Rob, Chris, Matt, David, Austin and Steven." Carter said gesturing to each of his friends in turn; they all smiled, looking the girls over. "And this is Cassidy, Alice and Rebecca." The girls did the exact same thing as the boys; they smiled and looked them over.

"Nice to meet you, um, just out of curiosity who threw the Quaffle?" Cassi said glancing at each of the boys.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that."

"So you're the one that threw it?"

"No, Adam did, but I threw it to him so…"

"Well nice throw." She said smiling.

"Nice catch."

"Thanks."

"So what house are you guys in?" Alice asked as they sat down on the grass.

"Carter, Adam, David and I are in Ravenclaw." Chris said.

"Yeah and Rob, Steven, Austin and I are in Hufflepuff." Matt said.

"Oh so you're the nice ones then." Becca smiled.

"Yeah, but I don't know what Matt's doing in Hufflepuff." Rob said.

"That's a little harsh." Becca said. It looked like she and Matt liked each other.

"What house are you in?" Carter asked.

"Gryffindor."

"Oh yeah? Have you met the First Year boys yet? I'm pretty sure they set off dung bombs in the Entrance Hall, they seem like jerks." Adam commented.

"Yeah, but they didn't seem like jerks, although one of my friends, Lily, hates two of them. Have you guys met them?"

"You could say that." Carter said scowling at a memory.


	9. Speak of the Devil

**AN: This chapter is a continuation of chapter 8, which ended with: **

_**"What house are you in?" Carter asked. **_

"_**Gryffindor." **_

"_**Oh yeah? Have you met the First Year boys yet? I'm pretty sure they set off dung bombs in the Entrance Hall, they seem like jerks." Adam commented. **_

"_**Yeah, but they didn't seem like jerks, although one of my friends, Lily, hates two of them. Have you guys met them?" **_

"_**You could say that." Carter said scowling at a memory**_

Just then Sirius, James and Remus ran by, quickly followed by Peter, every so often the boys would glance over their shoulders.

"Speak of the devil…" Carter muttered under his breath.

"And the devil shall appear." Adam finished the saying as they spitefully gazed at the running boys.

"What did they do now?" Cassi mumbled to herself.

The boys ran down by the group, heading toward the lake. Everyone sitting in the little group watched as they slowed to a walk, smiling almost mischievously. Sirius seemed to become aware of the people watching them. He whispered to James and Remus as Peter caught up to them, then he turned toward the group on the lawn. Spotting Cassi he called out.

"Hey it's you again!" Cassi rolled her eyes as the dark haired boy walked toward them.

"You know I have a name right?" Adam and Carter stared daggers at the four Gryffindor First Year boys. Cassi was highly aware of the tension in the air, hanging around the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs and the Gryffindors.

"Yeah I know it's Cassidy…So are you going to introduce us?" He said looking from his friends to the group Cassi sat with.

"I was under the impression you all knew each other already." Adam and Carter sat rigidly with anger emanating from them as they stared at Sirius and James. Remus glanced between each of the groups of boys. Alice and Becca were also uneasy. "Anyway, this is Adam, Carter, David, Chris, Matt, Rob, Steven and Austin, and this is Remus, Sirius, James and Peter. Honestly, you guys could've introduced yourselves."

"You guys have a lot of nerve coming over here." Adam said bitterly. All four of the boys were taken aback, but only Remus spoke.

"I'm sorry what? Why?"

"You guys set off dung bombs in the Entrance Hall and we got blamed for it." Cassi's face was completely shocked.

"We di-" James began to deny the accusation but Carter cut him off. Both Adam and Carter were standing now and they were getting madder by the second. Everyone could see a confrontation coming up…a physical confrontation.

"Don't lie to us; we got detention on the first day because of you. And because of you, I'll be getting a howler tomorrow!" The two groups of boys were close enough to punch each other, although they would most likely use magic, testosterone was flowing and the fight would be soon.

"That's not our fault!" Sirius said. In a flash wands were out, Sirius and James had theirs and Adam and Carter. Remus took his wand out as the rest of Adam and Carter's friends drew theirs.

"Oh not again." Cassi said standing up. "Come on guys, put the wands away."

"I've already got a detention, might as well get another." Adam said.

"Why do boys always have to fight over everything? Just put the wands away!" Cassi's voice turned from exasperated to stern, it was a voice that would have made McGonagall proud. Becca and Alice were completely shocked, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted, they looked like deer in headlights.

"Put the stupid wands away!" Surprisingly James, Sirius and Remus all stowed their wands away quickly.

"You're right; we don't need to do this." Sirius said looking from Cassi to the boys in front of him.

"Yeah, we'll just go." James agreed and Remus nodded taking a step back. Cassi's eyes narrowed, she didn't think that they would back down from a fight…any fight.

"Let's just settle this." Carter said, he looked half crazed, almost insane and determined to take the Gryffindors down.

"What is going on here?" No one had even noticed Professor McGonagall coming down from the school. Carter, Adam and all the other boys spun around to face the professor, wands still raised. She took a mental note of who had their wands out and who did not before she spoke again. "Put you wands away." She paused waiting for them to do as instructed.

"Now tell me what happened."

They told her the whole story, from when Sirius, James and Remus came over to when McGonagall joined them. Cassi, Alice and Becca were called upon to confirm or deny things that were said, and the Gryffindor Boys told her how they had listened to Cassi and decided that a confrontation was not "worth it". The whole ordeal felt rather like a trial, with McGonagall as the judge and the girls as the witnesses. Whether the Gryffindors were the plaintiff or the defence was unclear, but in the end a sentence was handed down.

Adam and Carter got 2 detentions but their previous detention was cancelled. The rest of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff first year boys got 1 detention. And the Gryffindors got off practically scratch free, half an hour of detention, compared to the hour the others got.

Before leaving, Prof. McGonagall suggested that the boys either forget their differences and start new, or avoid each other all together. She said that she would rather have them friends than enemies for the remainder of their seven years. "We don't need to become the house that everyone hates."

Then, looking at Sirius and James she muttered, "You two are going to be trouble." Then she walked away, leaving embarrassed Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and three grinning Gryffindor Boys, two of whom looked quite mischievous.

"Well this is awkward." Cassi said after a few minutes of incredibly uncomfortable silence. Sirius looked at her.

"And that's supposed to make it better? Stating the obvious?"

"It's better than nothing. At least stating the obvious starts a conversation, instead of just sitting her revelling in it." Remus smiled at her and she smiled back. Then the group fell into another silence. Alice and Becca whispered to each other, Cassi was sitting slightly farther away with Carter conveniently sitting in between them.

"Cassi, do you want to finish our walk now?" Becca asked breaking the silence. Everyone sitting in that group of uncomfortable, awkward teens was looking at them.

"Good idea, let's go." She said jumping at the opportunity to get away. The girls got up and began walking to the edge of the lake. They had gotten to the very edge before any of them spoke.

"Do you think it was a good idea to leave them alone together?" Alice asked amusedly.

"Only time will tell." The girls burst out laughing as each of them imagined a different scenario, all of which ended up with the boys blowing something up and looking like the old potionneer cartoons they used to watch after he had messed up a potion.

"What do you say after this we go find Lily? She missed one hell of a day!" Becca suggested.

"Yeah, I almost wish I had." Cassi said looking at the lake.

"I don't, those boys were so cute! Plus that drama with Sirius and James!" Alice was like a kid in a candy shop, a true comparison for both magic and muggle.

"Well I think we should go see Lily, I want to meet her friend." Becca, completely ignored Alice's comment, the only thing that told Alice that she had heard her was an eye roll.

"When I saw him this morning he didn't really talk to me, only to Lily." Cassi added as they redirected their route up to the school.

They walked the halls chatting about their day, what they had read and Cassi's meeting with Sirius and James. Alice ate up the information and Cassi found that her friends were quite helpful with formulating and opinion. The only thing she didn't tell them was that she lied to Filch. Wandering the halls and talking had captivated them and soon they forgot their original goal of finding Lily.

After a while they passed the Great Hall and noticed that people were gathering for dinner.

"It's dinner time already?" Cassi asked as they stopped in the doorway.

"I guess so…actually, I'm pretty hungry." Becca said

"Me too, let's go eat." The girls started into the Hall turning immediately toward the Gryffindor Table.

As they got a clear view of their table they spotted a familiar head of vivid red hair sitting next to an unfamiliar black haired boy.

"I guess we found Lily, huh?" Cassi said walking straight to their friend.

She sat down on the opposite side of the table with Becca and Alice, directly across from the boy. Alice sat across from Lily and Becca sat beside her.

"Lily we've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Oh hey guys, and sorry we like just came in here. Um, so this is my friend Severus, he was the first one to tell me I was a witch, and Sev this is Cassidy, Alice and Rebecca, they're my friends from Gryffindor."

"Nice to meet you." Severus smiled at them.

"Lily told us you were in Slytherin, takes guts for a Slytherin to sit at the Gryffindor table." Cassi commented.

"Yeah well, jus because we're in different houses doesn't mean we can't sit together."

"Exactly we can still be friends." Lily added.

They began to help themselves to food. There was rotisserie chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, gravy, corn on the cob and fried green beans.

"So are you looking forward to classes tomorrow?" Alice asked him.

"Kind of, not looking forward to the homework but learning magic."

"I hear you, homework, yuck." Becca said as she ate a forkful of corn.

They kept talking as they ate, getting to know each other and Severus turned from being Lily's friend to being all their friends. Eating and drinking, without worrying about any explosive confrontations, was relaxing, they spoke about their days and found that Severus shared Lily's dislike of James and Sirius. It was evident as soon as they started talking about the almost duel outside.

By the time the dinner was done, and Severus went back to the Slytherins, they were calling each other by their nicknames. Then they walked up to Gryffindor tower, sitting again in the same spot as before, Cassi in the armchair and the rest of the girls on the couch.

They talked about their days, their opinions of the new boys they met, the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs and, of course, Severus. The fires were lit and crackling, the entire common room was warm and cozy, and it felt like home. Well, until the first year boys came in.

Rowdy, loud and laughing they stumbled into the common room and walked over to the area around the fire right beside the first year girls. Luckily it was the most tolerable of the boys who sat nearest the girls, Remus, in the armchair next to Cassi. As the rest of her friends continued talking amongst themselves Cassi struck up a conversation with Remus.

"Hello Remus." Cassi said pleasantly, ignoring the other boys.

"Hi, looking forward to school tomorrow?"

"Yeah I guess, not the homework, but definitely the magic. What about you?"

"Same, I've got to pack my bag with parchment, ink and quills."

"Oh, I completely forgot about packing my bag, thank you so much Remus!"

"No problem and I'm sure you wouldn't have forgotten, Lily would've reminded you."

"I'm quite sure you're right. Which classes do you think we'll have tomorrow?"

"I dunno but hopefully Transfiguration, Charms and Defence. I really want to learn more spells."

"Yeah those would be fun."

"Hey Cassi we're going to go up to the dorm to pack, do you want to come?"

"I probably should…I will see you later Remus."

"Alright, see you later."

She got up and went with her friends to the stairs that led to the Girls' Dorms. Once they entered their dorm, each girl headed for her own trunk and pulled out the basic supplies they had brought with them.

Cassi looked around for the bag she had brought, a purple and black plaid cotton tote with double convertible (handles and a shoulder strap.) Alice had brought a hot pink canvas shoulder bag. Becca had a solid grey canvas tote with a zipper pocket on the front. Lily would carry a chequered red and black tote.

Inside they put a jar of ink, four rolls of parchment and two quills. Then they made sure they had all the textbooks they might need for tomorrow. After they had set aside their supplies, they returned to the common room.

The Gryffindor boys were still talking although quieter now and they looked to be conspiring, hunched over in a small group, they had moved to the table near where they sat and appeared to have a few books spread open in the middle of their huddle.

The girls, having exhausted almost all topics of conversation, decided to curl up in front of the fires with some books from the shelves nearest them.

Gryffindor tower provided an extensive library, consisting of spell books and potions books, Muggle and Magic history books, and classic Muggle and Magic literature. This time, Cassi did not take the first book she saw, but instead read the titles and summaries. Most of the classic magic books she had already read, or did not interest her at the time. Instead she looked at the Muggle classics and chose a romance she had never heard of. _Pride and Prejudice_ it was called. It was a novel about a family with 5 daughters whose mother wishes for her daughters to be married quickly, as they are ineligible to inherit anything.

She sat in her armchair; her legs tucked up onto the chair, and in the warmth of the fire, was brought to an ancient England, in the countryside not far from London. She read of the Bennet family, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. She read all of two chapters before she was interrupted.

"Cassi we're going to head up to bed, are you coming?"

"What time is it?"

"Around 10:30"

"Um well no not yet, I think I'll stay until 11 or so."

"Alright well, don't forget to actually go to sleep, we do have classes tomorrow." Lily reminded her, sounding too much like a mother.

"I know, don't worry." They walked up the stairs leaving Cassi alone. She had just got back to her book when someone else interrupted.

"What are you reading?" She looked up to see Sirius sitting on the couch where her friends used to be.

"_Pride and Prejudice _by Jane Austen" She said going back to her book.

"Oh yeah, what's it about?" This time she didn't look up from the page she was trying to read.

"It's a Muggle classic, a romance."

"But what's it about?" Cassi folded the corner of her page and flipped the book over reading the back aloud.

"_Pride and Prejudice_ _is the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet, their five daughters, and the various romantic adventures at their Hertfordshire residence of Longbourn. The parents' characters are greatly contrasted: Mr Bennet being a wise and witty gentleman; while Mrs Bennet is permanently distracted by the issue of marrying off her daughters at any cost. The reason for Mrs Bennet's obsession is that their estate will pass by law after Mr Bennet's death to his closest blood relative: his cousin, the Reverend William Collins (a fatuous, tactless and pompous man). Austen's tale is spurred on by the arrival of the young and wealthy bachelor Charles Bingley and his friend Fitzwilliam Darcy. It is the story of the various affections, affectations and engagement shenanigans that develop due to Mrs Bennet's relentless matchmaking and the dashing Darcy's tempestuous relationship with Elizabeth Bennet. _Does that tell you what it's about?"

"So a romance, really? I didn't think you would be into that."

"You seem to have a lot of opinions of me, yet you don't even know me."

"You're quite fascinating." Cassi's eyebrows raised, she knew he meant to say that she was interesting and he would like to get to know her better, but the way he phrased it she could have thought it offensive.

"Like a science project?" She was playing Devil's Advocate; she wanted to know what he would do to fix the misinterpretation.

"No, no I didn't mean it like that, I didn't even think of that…I meant-" Cassi smiled, he had reacted like she expected, and he didn't need to struggle anymore.

"I know what you meant." Sirius' eyes narrowed as he thought over what she said, and Cassi waited patiently.

"You do? Then why'd' you ask?"

"To prove a theory." She stated simply knowing that it would drive him crazy, now she opened her book to the page she had dog-eared.

"A theory? What theory?" Sirius was surprised, but excited, curious to hear what she thought of him, but Cassi completely ignored his comment.

"Well I think I'm going to bed. See you in class Sirius." Without waiting for a reply she got up and took the book with her, walking toward the dorms.

"What theory?" He called as she disappeared in the stairwell.


	10. Theory

**A/N: This is a continuation of the last chapter, from the boys' perspective. The last chapter ended with: **

"_**You're quite fascinating." (Sirius) **_

"_**Like a science project?" (Cassi)**_

_**"No, no I didn't mean it like that, I didn't even think of that…I meant-" (Sirius)**_

"_**I know what you meant."**_

"_**You do? Then why'd' you ask?" **_

"_**To prove a theory." **_

"_**A theory? What theory?" **_

"_**Well I think I'm going to bed. See you in class Sirius."**_

"_**What theory?"**_

Sirius moved back over to the table where his friends sat, plotting their next prank. Remus was hesitant about taking part, especially after the almost-fiasco that afternoon, but Sirius and James had managed to convince him and nervous little Peter to take part. This next prank was a four person job, and with some of the spells they had found in books, mainly _Magical Jokes_, they would be able to create such a disruption that everyone would hear about it, and the people that did it. This next plan was not particularly concerned with getting caught, although they didn't tell Remus that.

But now, the plan wasn't the thing at the forefront of Sirius' mind. No, it was a girl, a particularly fascinating girl that had a way of making him feel clueless. Like she knew some great secret that should be so obvious to him, but wasn't. And though he usually hated to feel stupid or left out (he got enough of that at home), she also had some sort of magnetic energy that drew him to her. He couldn't get enough of her presence and being with her, especially when it was just the two of them, made him feel like she was going to let him in on that great secret of hers. He actually felt privileged to know her and to be able to spend time with her. Now that he knew she had a theory about him, she became even more mysterious, and he wanted even more to be with her, to know her secrets and tell her all of his, secrets he wouldn't tell anyone else, at least at the time.

When he sat down at the table, he didn't consciously realise he was. Sirius was so deep in his thoughts that his face showed that he wasn't really there. James, Remus and Peter were already looking at him, curious about his loud inquiry, and now they were more curious than ever.

"I told you to leave her alone." Remus said gloating as would be normal. The worst part was that he didn't even sound like a pompous, egotistical prat, so you couldn't really be mad at him.

"Yeah, yeah"

"So what happened?" James asked he looked genuinely interested.

"She has a theory!"

"So?"

"She has a theory that she won't tell me!" Remus laughed and James joined in, Peter was grinning wildly. "What's so funny?"

"Sirius, you're upset because she has a theory that she won't tell you?"

"Yeah, I want to know what she thinks of me, and the rest of you, that's always fun…Why do girls have to be so confusing?"

"I thought you said that you were like the Girl Guru or something." James said.

"Well some girls are more complicated. They just need a bit of thought is all."

"Listen, Sirius, Cassi is a really nice girl, don't screw up her friendship with your stupid mind games. We already know that Lily hates us, well not me, but how long do you think it will take an annoyed girl to agree with her friend's judgement?"

"Remus does have a point." James commented.

"Why don't you just become her friend? Then won't she tell you what she thinks?" Peter spoke up for the first time.

"Actually, Peter's right, if she doesn't want to be your friend then you know that she hates you like Lily, but if she does, then well she obviously doesn't think you're an arrogant, bigheaded, egotistical prat."

"Anything else you'd like to add to that Remus?" Sirius asked offended that his friend had found so many adjectives.

"No, no, that's what Lily thinks of you two. Her words, not mine. But Sirius, don't screw this up. Something tells me that these are not girls you should mess with. I'm pretty sure they would kill you."

"You think I would be beaten by _them_?" Sirius scoffed at the thought.

"You realise that Cassi already knows hexes and Lily is a quick study. And with Rebecca and Alice's connections, almost every first year girl would be against you. Those four girls are close and they would stick together and beat you like it was nothing."

"Again, Remus has a point. But I'd like to think we could take them, the four us against the four of them."

"I'm not getting involved in a fight with them." Remus said

"I don't think we should fight the girls in our own house." Peter added.

"Well not to worry, because we aren't going to get into a fight with them." James said. "Let's get to bed, we've got class tomorrow." He snapped the open book shut and the boys trudged up the stairs, each of them thinking something different.

Peter thought of all his friends, how they had accepted him even though he was so different. They were all smart. He could tell just from the day he had spent with them. He wasn't smart, not at all, he was actually quite dumb, there wasn't anything that he knew that he excelled at, it was a wonder that he was even accepted to Hogwarts. He went up the stairs tired, but happy, and full of wonder at the openness of the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.

James thought of the "Lily" Remus had spoke of. He was curious, a normal curious, but he found that he was curious of everything. School, girls and life at Hogwarts. Everything was new and different, and he wanted to know more. This year is all new, it's completely unknown, and instead of finding it scary, he found it exhilarating. He climbed to his new dorm that he shared with his new friends, excited at the prospect of a new future.

Remus thought of all the people he could be considered friends with, there was Lily, Cassidy, Alice and Rebecca, James and Remus and Peter. That was 7 friends that he had never had. And as he passed a small window, he saw the quarter moon shining brightly, and all his happiness plummeted. He remembered the secret of his life, he remembered the one thing he couldn't share with anyone here, no matter how much he liked them. He couldn't tell them, he couldn't tell anyone. It was a miracle in itself that he was at Hogwarts that Dumbledore had let him in, but he couldn't ask for his new friends to accept what he was. Pushing his last thoughts to the back of his mind, focussing only on his new friends, he walked through the door of the dorm he shared.

Sirius was thinking of Cassidy, the girl he didn't understand, the girl he wanted to spend time with and understand better. He realised that he wanted to be her friend, he didn't need to be told by Remus or Peter or James not to screw this up, and he wanted to be her friend so badly that he _knew_ he couldn't screw this friendship up. He also realised that he wouldn't really mind if she would beat him at a duel. It would be embarrassing…but if it was her…how could he hex her? He decided that he would try his hardest to be her friend and starting tomorrow he would look for things in common, but now, he needed rest.

They climbed into their four poster beds, pulled the curtains shut and fell asleep, before their heads even hit their pillows.

**A/N: Please Review. But thanks for reading **


	11. Some Shortcut!

The next morning the girls woke early. Too excited to sleep, too nervous to focus, they ran around the dorm getting their hair ready and their makeup done, unable to sit still. When they had finished preparing themselves, it was 8:00; they had half an hour before class started.

They left their bags, knowing that they would comeback for them and all their text books and went down to the Great Hall. There were already a few people there, and Professor McGonagall was bewitching a stack of papers to hand themselves out.

As the girls sat down in the middle of the Gryffindor table, four papers flew their way, one stopping in front of each of them. When they grabbed the paper, the magic left it, and they realised it was their schedules.

_**Gryffindor First Year-Term 1-Scheduel**_

**MONDAY**

**8:30-9:45 **_Transfiguration_ with Ravenclaw

**10:00-11:15 **_Charms_ with Hufflepuff

**11:30-12:15 _LUNCH_**

**12:30-1:30 **_Defence Against the Dark Arts _with Hufflepuff

**1:45-2:45**_ Flying _with Ravenclaw

**TUESDAY**

**8:30-9:45 **_History of Magic _with Slytherin

**10:00-11:15 **_Flying_ with Ravenclaw

**11:30-12:15 _LUNCH_**

**12:30-1:30 **

_Transfiguration _with Ravenclaw **Double Period**

**1:45-2:45**

**WEDNESDAY**

**8:30-9:45 **

_Herbology _with Hufflepuff **Double Period **

**10:00-11:15**

**11:30-12:15 _LUNCH _**

**12:30-1:30 **

_Potions _with Slytherin

**1:45-2:45 **

**THURSDAY**

**8:30-9:45 **_Charms_ with Hufflepuff

**10:00-11:15 **_History of Magic _with Slytherin

**11:30-12:15 _LUNCH _**

**12:30-1:30 **_Defence Against the Dark Arts _with Hufflepuff

**1:45-2:45 **_Herbology _with Hufflepuff

**FRIDAY**

**8:30-9:45 **_Potions _with Slytherin

**10:00-11:15 **_Defence Against the Dark Arts _with Hufflepuff

**11:30-12:15 _LUNCH _**

**12:30-1:30 **_Charms _with Hufflepuff

**1:45-2:45 **_History of Magic _with Slytherin

"We have awesome classes today!" Alice said after reading the first column.

"I know Transfiguration, Charms, Defence and Flying! All wand-using classes and a flying lesson!"

"Well, let's eat then go get our books." Lily said taking a bite of a pancake. After ten minutes all of them had finished their pancakes and syrup. They walked to Gryffindor tower, not really talking, each of them excited and nervous.

When they got to the tower and up into their dorm, each girl dived into their own pile looking for their Transfiguration and Charms texts. After shoving the books into their bags (some more careful than others with their parchment and quills…_hem_, _hem_ Rebecca) they checked the time, 8:15, then headed for the fifth floor where the Transfiguration classroom was.

When they got to the classroom door, they found Carter, Adam, David and Chris talking amongst them selves in a small circle. The Ravenclaw girls and Gryffindor boys had yet to come. Cassi and her friends walked over to where the boys were standing, there was only about 10 minutes left before class.

"Hey, guys." Carter said as the boys with their backs to the girls moved to include them.

"Hi, so you guys excited for class?" Cassi asked as they joined the circle.

"Yeah, I guess, it'll be nice to learn some magic, but not looking forward to the homework." David replied and the rest of the boys nodded their agreement.

"That seems to be the general consensus." Alice smiled at them; _she must be enjoying this_, thought Cassi.

The Ravenclaw girls came next, but they didn't walk over to the little group, stopping farther down the hall. At three minutes to the bell, Professor McGonagall walked into the class, but left the students outside, telling them to wait for the bell.

Cassi looked around the halls, hoping the Gryffindor boys had enough sense not to be late on their first day, especially for their own head of house's class. She glanced at Becca's watch, a minute and a half left…1 minute 20 seconds…1 minute…45 seconds…

Remus, James, Sirius and Peter came running around the corner, coming to a stop, beside Cassi and the other Gryffindors, with 30 seconds to spare.

"Some shortcut Sirius!" James said somewhat under his breath (the gryffindor girls heard too).

"And I thought you were the responsible one." Cassi whispered to Remus who smiled as the bell rang.

"So did I" He whispered back as they walked toward the classroom door.

The class was set up in 4 rows, 2 columns of 2 desks each.

Rebecca Smith|Alice Davies Megan Jones|Samantha Harris 

Lily Evans|Cassidy Taylor Tracy McMurphy|Jade Derby

Peter Pettigrew|Remus Lupin Carter Phillips|Adam Winters

James Potter|Sirius Black David Connors|Chris Wilson 

It seemed that everyone was excited. Lily was happy that Sirius and James had sat at the back of the room, far enough away from her that there wouldn't be any confrontations.

Professor McGonagall stood at the front of the room and addressed the class.

"Good morning, as you all should know, I am Professor McGonagall, and I will be teaching you Transfiguration. Now the first thing we'll be doing is analysing wands, so wands out. For this first part of the lesson you won't need your texts, but please take out a piece of parchment, ink and a quill." Professor McGonagall took small books off her desk and bewitched them to hand themselves out just as she had done with the schedules.

"Now I presume we all know that the wand chooses the wizard?" She paused while the class nodded their agreement. "So, to know who you are as a witch or wizard you need to know your wand. These booklets contain the magical properties of a wand, containing almost all woods and cores. Does everyone know what their wand is made of?" Again she paused while the class nodded. "Good, you will write a total of six inches. You must include a description of your wand wood, core, length and flexibility. This is due tomorrow, you will have 15 minutes to begin your research, then we will move on to Transfiguration."

The class groaned, they would have homework their first night.

"Don't worry, all first years get this assignment, in every class." McGonagall said taking a seat at the desk.

Everyone opened their books looking for the right properties that make up their wands. Lily found the page she was looking for after all of 20 seconds, but Cassi just kept flipping. _Why isn't it in alphabetical order?_ Cassi thought. Finally, she found the page. It had her wood, Ebony, and 2 others, Ziricote and Oak. She read the section on ebony; then flipped to the _Wand Cores_ section. Lily was, of course, already flipping through the pages, but this time, it was Cassi that found her page first.

After reading she flipped to the _Wand Length and Flexibility_ section. This was the shortest section with just a chart and a short description. Cassi dipped her quill in the ink bottle and began to write. Soon the class was filled with the slight scratching of quills on parchment. She had written 5 sentences before McGonagall stood up again.

Their first Transfiguration lesson, they took a note on Basic Morphing Spells: changing aspects of inanimate objects. They focused on changing red apples to blue and back again.

On their first try, everyone ended up with a different colour had the bluest purple, then Remus, Sirius, James, Lily, Alice, Becca, and Peter.

Poor Peter's apple barely changed colour. After a second try they had more success…well, except Peter. Cassidy's apple was the most vibrant blue.

After they had mastered blue, they moved on to green, then yellow and orange. For homework, other than the wand assignment, they were to practice changing larger objects into different colours. Then they left for their next class, Gryffindors headed to the Charms class.

James and Sirius grumbled about the homework while Remus talked with Cassi and Peter, who grumbled about his lack of talent in changing colours. The boys and girls walked together…almost. James and Sirius were walking at the back of the group, then Cassi, Remus and Peter in the middle, and Rebecca, Lily and Alice in front.

"I can't even turn a stupid apple blue!" Peter complained

"Oh Peter I'm sure you'll get it you just have to practice." Cassi tried to comfort him.

"Yeah, Cassi and I will help you if you need it." Remus offered.

"Thanks guys." Peter said.

"Hey, Cassidy you dropped a quill!" Sirius called from behind holding up her brown quill. Cassi looked back and walked toward Sirius and James with an outstretched hand.

"Thanks it would not have been good to loose a quill on the first day." She said taking the quill and putting it in her bag.

"Yeah, then how would you do your Transfiguration Homework?" James said sarcastically.

"Well what'd' you expect? Everyone knows Professor McGonagall is tough."

"But still, homework on the first day!" Sirius joined the argument.

"If you're so apposed to the homework, then don't do it." Cassi said simply.

"We're still going to do it, it just sucks!" James said grumpily as they turned down the corridor that led to the Charms class, still following the other Gryffindors.

"Then if you're going to do it, stop complaining." Cassi said walking through the door next to Lily, who had waited at the door for her.

"God, that girl is confusing." Sirius said under his breath to James, who smiled and rolled his eyes before stepping through the door of the Charms class.


	12. Walk you to Defence?

The seats in the Charms class were arranged differently, in a large semicircle with the chalk board in the front center.

Matthew Stewart | Austin Brown

Rob Turner | Remus Lupin

Alice Davies | Lily Evans

Stefanie Rogers | Kristie Walker

Rebecca Smith | James Potter

Steven Hall | Sirius Black

Peter Pettigrew | Christine Abbot |Mellissa Collins | Cassidy Taylor

**A/N: The desks are all connected in a semicircle, not one behind the other like the names are written. (The names in the right column are on the other side of the room not right beside [Sirius sits beside Cassidy]) **

Professor Flitwick had created a seating plan with floating name tags above each desk. They noticed quickly that Flitwick integrated the houses to sit together. Cassi took her seat next to Sirius, who grinned, and got her Charms text, quill and ink bottle along with the rest of the class.

Flitwick began the lesson with a quick introduction, and a note on a levitating charm. After they had finished copying the note, they began the practical. Using the papers that had been floating to mark their seats the students pointed their wands to make their first attempt.

"Now remember, _swish_ and _flick._" Professor Flitwick said waving his wand. Looking hesitant the students practiced waving their wands. "Well go on then." Professor Flitwick urged them and each student began to say the spell.

Lily raised her wand and swished while she said the words, "Win-_gar-_dium Levi-_o_-sa." The paper raised in the air, above her head. A few seconds after, Cassi's paper flew into the air.

"Very good, Ms. Evans! And Ms. Taylor!" Flitwick praised as the girls smiled triumphantly to each other. Professor Flitwick walked to the other side of the class to help Peter, whose paper had begun smoking.

Sirius swished his wand and said the words but his paper only fluttered a few centimetres off the desk before landing. Again and again the paper barely left the desk.

"Uh, Sirius?" Cassi asked, barley hiding the smile on her face.

"What?" He said bitterly, as the paper's corner jerked upward, but nothing else happened.

"I just noticed that, um, well, your paper's barely twitching." Sirius' eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "I just think that you're stressing the wrong parts of the incantation." She bit her lip hesitantly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you say 'Wingar_-dium _Levio-_sa'_ and it should be Win-_gar-_dium Levi-_o_-sa."

"Oh, well I'll give it a try. Win-_gar-_dium Levi-_o_-sa" Instantly the paper flew into the air and Sirius smiled at Cassidy. "Thanks."

"No problem."

For the rest of the class they practiced levitating objects. Getting them higher and floating them longer, eventually practicing moving them across the room and back again, their main object of focus (after the slips of paper) was their Charms texts. Once the bell rang, the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs headed to the Great Hall for lunch. Cassi walked with Lily, Alice and Rebecca ahead of them, talking about the Charms and Transfiguration class they had and the homework. When they were nearing a turn in the corridor, Rob caught up to them, walking beside Cassi.

"Hey Cassi, Lily." Rob said.

"Oh hey Rob" Cassi said, something about the look on his face made her feel awkward, but special; she just wasn't used to the attention.

"I forgot to ask Alice something. See you later Rob" Lily said quickening her pace to catch up with Alice and Rebecca.

"So, what class do you have after Defence?" Cassi asked glancing at Rob, then quickly looking forward again.

"Uh, Charms with Slytherin, you?" Cassi suddenly became very aware of the boys walking behind her.

"Flying with Ravenclaw, should be fun."

"Yeah you guys are lucky, we don't have flying until tomorrow before lunch." They smiled at each other, and Sirius, behind them, felt anger flare within him at the look on Rob's face.

He didn't know why he cared, she wasn't his girlfriend, hell she wasn't even his friend. Sirius knew pretty much nothing about Cassidy, and yet he felt protective and coveted Rob's position, receiving Cassi's smile and the close proximity between them. He just couldn't help but feel jealous and a strange desire for Cassi to smile at him like that, to stand close to him and to be with her.

Sirius shook himself mentally, trying to get a handle on his emotions and calm down. He didn't need to get in a duel on his second day here. And what would he say when they asked him why he hexed Rob? That he was jealous of the way Rob and Cassi looked at each other? As if. No he would just have to get over it.

Cassi and Rob reached the Great Hall seconds after the other Gryffindor girls, and seconds before the Gryffindor boys. She said goodbye to Rob and joined her friends walking over to their house table.

"Gee, Lily thanks for ditching me!" Cassi said in a hushed whisper.

"He wanted to talk to you alone! Come on Cassi he's cute." Lily defended her decision.

"Yeah, he could be your boyfriend. He could take you to Hogsmeade and you could go for tea and-" Alice was rambling excitedly.

"Alice, leave her alone!" Rebecca said rolling her eyes. "Maybe she doesn't want to date Rob. Maybe she'd rather date someone like Sirius Black." Becca said humour glinting in her eyes.

"What is with you guys?" Cassi said quite loudly, then in a lower hushed tone, "And I _don't _want Sirius Black to be my boyfriend!" She almost hissed the last word, glaring at her friends.

Unfortunately for Cassidy, sound travels. In this particular case, the words S_irius Black _and _boyfriend _were the only ones that carried. And as luck would have it, Sirius Black (the other Gryffindor 1st year boys included) heard those words and, of course, they only intensified his curiosity.

James nudged him in the side grinning and wagging his eyebrows as if to say: "Nice one, mate." Remus looked a bit awkward and knew that they were not supposed to hear what was said. Peter smiled, looking between each of his friends. Sirius, however, didn't smile; he would be thrilled if she was saying that she wanted Sirius to be her boyfriend. But, then what if she was saying that she would hate to have him as her boyfriend, that she didn't want him as her boyfriend? Regardless of the rest of the sentence, James thought he did well, and Remus didn't approve of eavesdropping, and Peter was a mystery.

The boys sat down at the Gryffindor table and began eating without further mention of what they had heard. The girls were chatting amicably while they ate and when they finished they began to make their way to the Tower so they could exchange their books.

"Hey Alice, where you guys going?" Remus asked as Alice (the first of the girls) walked past him.

"The dorms, we've got to get our Defence books. Don't you guys?"

"Yeah, what time is it?" Rebecca glanced at her watch, since none of the other girls ever wore watches, they relied on Becca, and it was only the first day.

"Uh, about 12"

"Isn't that a bit early?" James asked

"Well, we don't want to be late-or practically late-like some people." Cassi responded with a challenging smirk. "Anyway, we'll see you in class…if you find your way there." Lily smiled as they turned away and walked toward the Entrance Hall.

Back at the Gryffindor table the boys looked at each other. "You know their right, right? We'll probably be late again." Remus said

"Hey we weren't late last time. But, maybe we should go get our stuff…" Sirius said. They all got up and followed the girls out of the Hall.

Walking quickly the boys managed to catch up to the girls. Lily glanced back at the sound of footsteps, she glared at James momentarily, and then turned back to her friends where she told them who was behind them. Cassi turned around next.

"So you actually decided to go to class on time? I'm impressed." Cassi mocked as Sirius scowled good naturedly.

"You should be this is quite a feat for them." Remus said smiling as James and Sirius looked at him surprised.

After a few minutes, each group talking amongst themselves, they reached the portrait hole and gave the password. Cassi and Sirius were last through the portrait hole, the rest of the Gryffindors were heading up the stairs and Sirius and Cassi lingered a bit to let the rest of their friends up first. When everyone else had gone up to their respective dorms, Sirius and Cassi walked up to the stairs and were on the landing that separated the boys' and girls' staircases.

"Walk you to Defence?" Sirius asked hopefully, but his smile faltered when Cassi scoffed at him.

"I can walk myself thanks, I'm very capable."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"You know, I should be the one offering to walk you, make sure you don't take a _'shortcut'_ or anything…"

"I'm never going to live that down; it was a mistake, okay? And I was just wondering if you wanted to walk together, you know, for company."

"Then sure I'll walk with you to Defence." Sirius smiled and the two parted ways to get their books.

**A/N: Please take part in the poll on my profile! I would love to know what you think. **


	13. No Pressure

Once upstairs Cassi told the girls that they would be walking with the boys, Lily, to say the least, wasn't enthused.

"Cassi! Why would you do that, you know I hate them!"

"What was I supposed to do? We're going the same way!"

"I don't want to walk with them!" Lily said frustrated.

"Alright, you don't have to. I'm the one who agreed to walk with them, not you. So I'll tell them that you guys went to meet Severus, something I forgot about, and since I've already met him, and I'm tired since someone woke me up in the morning, I decided I would wait with them."

"That works."

Alice, Becca, Lily and Cassi went down the spiralling stairs. Cassi stood by the bookshelf nearest the entrance to the dorms while the rest of the girls left to find Severus. After a couple minutes and it was getting late for them to get to class Cassi decided she would go see what was taking them so long.

She walked up the stairs and read the signs on the doors. Luckily she didn't have to go far; the first door was labelled _First Year Boys__._

"Sirius why is your sock in my text book?" James' muffled voice came through. Cassi smiled to herself. Then a loud thud came from behind the door.

"Ugh, James you can't leave slippery things lying around, I almost broke my ankle." Remus' aggravated voice was heard as Sirius chuckled. Cassi was definitely in the right tapped her knuckles lightly on the wooden door.

After some scuffling, someone banged into the door.

"James you really should listen to Remus" Sirius said swinging open the door. "Oh hi Cassi." He said smiling humorously holding a sock, presumably the one James found in his textbook.

"You guys realise we have like 5 minutes to get to class, right?" Remus glanced down at his watch.

"Why can't you guys just be organised? Now we're going to be late!"

"Sorry Cassi, you can go ahead if you want." James said holding a cloak (which must have been what Remus tripped on) and his school bag.

"And miss this? No way. How you guys managed to destroy your dorm on the first day is a mystery. But it is quite amusing. Plus, and let's be honest, you need all the help you can get." She responded smiling. Cassi walked a little further into the dorm and looked around at the mess that surrounded her. "So what are you still missing?"

"Just my Defence text." Sirius answered throwing the sock on his bed.

"It's right there." Cassi said gesturing to the spine of a book poking out from under his bed.

"Oh, then let's go." The boys picked up their bags and followed Cassi out the door. Once they were out in the corridor they walked a bit faster, almost jogging. They ran down the staircases all the way to the third level.

Cassi's hair flew around her as they rushed to their next class, and for Sirius, he marvelled at the way her curly locks swished on her back.

"We literally have less than a minute to get to class." Remus commented as they reached the third floor.

"Crap!" Cassi muttered breaking into a full out run. Luckily she knew exactly where the class was, just at the end of the corridor. The boys started running to, Remus taking the lead, James, Sirius and Cassi all in close succession, even Peter was just a couple paces behind.

They ran through the door of the classroom. The desks were arranged in individual rows with only 5 spots remaining. **(Underlined spots were the remaining ones) **

Mellissa Collins| Christine Abbot| Stefanie Rogers| Kristie Walker| Matthew Stewart| Steven Hall

Alice Davies| Rebecca Smith| Lily Evans| Cassidy Taylor| Rob Turner| Austin Brown

Peter Pettigrew| Remus Lupin| Sirius Black| James Potter

Cassi immediately took the seat beside Lily the other boys sitting at the back. As soon as they sat down the bell rang and the Professor walked into the room.

"Cutting it a little close don't you think?" Rob whispered to Cassi, his breath softly tickling her ear, blowing a few strands of her hair around her jaw line.

"You could say that." She whispered back to him, glancing up shyly at him.

Then their attention went to the front of the room, where the Prof began to speak.

"Good Afternoon class, in case you don't already know I am Professor Sullivan. I will be teaching you Defence against the Dark Arts. Today we will focus on the Disarming Charm. For the first part of the lesson you will be taking a note on this Charm, and the second part will be practical."

Cassi grinned excitedly at Lily as they took out their quills and parchment and began writing the note. After twenty minutes they put away their quills and took out their wands.

Professor Sullivan moved all the desks to the side of the room and moved a dummy holding a wand from his office into the center of the room. The students formed a large semicircle around the dummy.

"Now I'll demonstrate what should happen and then everyone will have a turn before we move to working in pairs…" Professor Sullivan stood in the middle of the group his wand pointed at the dummy's chest. "_Expelliarmus_"

The wand flew into the air, landing in his hand, and the dummy flew backward. Sullivan righted the dummy as he addressed the class.

"Alright now who wants to try? When you first start I don't expect you to be able to disarm our opponent here, it will most likely take two or three tries. So you're trying to throw your opponent backwards just like I did. Any volunteers to go first?"

All the boys' hands shot up in the air along with most of the girls', some of the Hufflepuff's were a little more hesitant.

"Good, we'll start over here and work our way through the circle."

The Hufflepuff boys were first in the circle and so they started, first Steven, then Austin, then Matt and Rob. None of them were successful in disarming their "opponent". Rob managed to make the wand wobble a bit in the dummy's hand, but that was all.

Next were the Hufflepuff girls and their charms were even weaker than the boys'. They barely managed to make the dummy rattle.

Lily went next and despite her best effort, the wand only rattled in the dummy's hand, after Lily went Alice and then Rebecca who received the same result as Lily. They frowned unhappily.

Cassi wasn't standing in the circle next to them as she normally would, since Sirius had called her over to ask her a question which turned out to be nothing but a stupid question. Unfortunately, by the time he was done asking his stupid question Professor Sullivan had set up the dummy and was giving instructions so she couldn't move.

After them was Peter, and that was just a disaster. He completely missed the dummy and instead hit the chalkboard causing sparks to fly around the class room.

Then was Remus who was almost able to get the dummy to release the wand, it almost slipped right out of its grasp, but at the last second, right before the wand fell, the dummy's hand closed around the wavering wand.

"Good try Mr Lupin, you were really close, just a little stronger next time." Sullivan praised as the Gryffindors gave him an impressed smile, Hufflepuff girls looked smiled simply and the boys looked at him enviously. "Alright now who's next? Mr Potter, go ahead then."

James was up. The dummy fumbled with the wand and dropped it but only at his feet. The spell wasn't strong enough to make the wand fly up in the air or throw the dummy backward, but it was stronger than Remus' and the wand hit the ground. As far as James was concerned it was a victory.

"Very good Mr Potter just a tiny bit stronger next time and you'll have the wand in your hand. Mr Black your up."

Sirius was just as successful as James; in fact he was a bit more. The wand fell from the dummy's hand and landed 1 foot in front of the dummy but not far enough too prevent the "opponent" from regaining possession of the wand quickly.

"Well looks like the Gryffindor Boys are leading the class!" Sullivan's gaze took in each boy, except Peter who was deliberately left out of the praising look. "Right now Miss Taylor, your up. Let's see what you can do."

"No pressure or anything." Sirius said smiling. He knew she could disarm the dummy; she had disarmed Snivellus just yesterday so why not make a joke out of it?

Cassi looked around at her classmates everyone's face, save for Sirius, James and Remus who either witnessed the disarming or heard about it from Sirius (Peter was looking at his feet, ashamed that he messed up). Even Lily's face was a little doubtful that Cassi could do it again. She noticed that Rob looked at Sirius hatefully for the comment he just made. She rolled her eyes _that can't be good…oh; well_ _Boys will be Boys, after all._ _Well, let's prove these Doubting Thomas's' wrong. _

She took her position in the middle of the semi-circle, facing the dummy that she now saw as her adversary. Cassi assumed the same stance that Professor Sullivan had, the stance she was taught to take by her mum and dad. Her legs were apart one slightly in front of the other, her wand was raised and ready and her knees somewhat bent.

"Expelliarmus" Cassi's voice wasn't a yell but it was powerful. The spell hit the dummy square in the chest and sent it flying back, way back. The dummy went flying into the chalkboard at least 8 feet back and its wand soaring into the air. Cassi stuck out her hand and caught the wand mid air, just like Sullivan's did.

She took a deep breath and straightened herself looking at the dummy's wand secure in her hand. She looked up at her professor who looked quite impressed that she had been able to do exactly what he had wanted. Cassi held out the wand to Sullivan (not pointing the tip at him of course) and he took it with a please smile.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you disarm an opponent! Excellent work Miss Taylor!"

Cassi glanced quickly around at her classmates as she walked back to her spot. Her eyes only remembering the faces of a few; Rob's showed affection and interest, James and Remus' showed pride and praise as did her friends, the Hufflepuff's generally showed the same, except for one girl with silvery blond hair that Cassi knew to be named Kristie. This girl's face had envy written all over it. Envy and hate, the girl stared daggers into Cassi but glanced occasionally at Rob and Sirius. Cassi followed Kristie's gaze to Sirius and saw that he looked at her with pride and friendliness. All this took only a few seconds for Cassi to process.

When she stood once again beside Sirius, he leaned over and spoke quietly to her.

"You did great, although it wasn't quite as amusing as when you did that to Snivellus." He said his mischievous smile playing on his face.

"You're going to get yourself into trouble talking like that." She replied before walking over to Lily and her other friends.

Sirius watched her walk away and it was only after he couldn't see her anymore that he noticed the other girl on the other side of the circle. She was beautiful, with long silver hair, pale skin and blue eyes. Sirius flashed her a smile and winked. And the beautiful girl smiled back shyly.

"Alright pair off and practice with each other. Try not kill each other now, I have set up mats so kindly find a mat to practice on. You won't be able to throw a person as far back as a dummy, but your partner should stumble or fall backward." Sullivan instructed.

Lily and Cassi paired together as did Alice and Rebecca. James and Sirius went together and Remus was stuck with Peter. Rob partnered with Matt and Steven with Austin. Kristie went with Christine and Mellissa went with Stefanie.

While everyone else was beginning their practice, Professor Sullivan began circulating to help the pairs improve. He started with Cassi and Lily's group.

"Miss Evans you had better watch yourself, you don't want to end up like the dummy and that was only her first try too."

"Actually sir, it wasn't. You see, my parents work for the Ministry and they thought I should know a few Defence basics."

"Quite a few parents in the Ministry feel the same; it's the smart thing to do. Alright well let's see what you can do Miss Evans. Picture someone you really hate and channel that anger ok?"

Lily knew exactly who to picture in Cassi's place. Sirius Black and James Potter. She said the incantation, Cassi's wand flew into the air and she fell backward into the mat.

"Ooof!" Cassi said as she hit the mat.

"Alright Miss Taylor time for your pay back." Sullivan said as Cassi got up, and the two girls swapped positions.

Cassi's spell was slightly stronger since they had an unspoken good natured competition. This time Lily crashed into the mats and her wand soared into Cassi's hand.

"Ah equally matched I see." With that Sullivan continued to make his way around to each of the pairs.

At the end of the class, Cassi walked with Rebecca, Alice and Lily walked out of the class talking and chatting amicably about how they made each other fly back and slam into the protective mats.

Excitedly they made their way to the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch for their flying lesson with Ravenclaw that would be taught by Madame Hooch.

The Gryffindor boys didn't lag behind at all, in fact they practically ran out of the Defence class and all the way down to the pitch.

Cassi smiled as they tore around the corner in front of them.

**A/N: I've noticed that people are not reviewing yet tons of people read. I love to know your thoughts and suggestions on the story so please REVIEW, it only takes like a minute. Anyway please keep reading (and reviewing). **


	14. Do We Bring Dates?

Down on the pitch 16 brooms lied in two columns, one for each of the students, with a fair bit of room in between each. The girls stood in a small circle talking while they waited for Madame Hooch to join them for class. Once she got there, the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors gathered around.

"Welcome to your first flying lesson! Those of you, who have either flown or find that flying is easy, please help those who are having trouble. Alright now let's get started, everyone stand beside a broom."

The class hurried to find a broom in the rows. Cassi and Lily took two brooms beside each other and Rebecca and Alice took the brooms opposite them.

"Now put your hands over top of your brooms and say 'up'." Madame Hooch instructed.

The class did as they were told and you could tell exactly who would be good at flying, and who would be not so good. Cassi, Sirius and James were the only Gryffindors who got their brooms up on their first try (Carter, Adam and Samantha were the only Ravenclaws).

Lily was having a particularly hard time with her broom. After the first few tries she got really frustrated. She was almost yelling at the broom. The most the broom did was twitch and roll around on the ground.

"Lily?" Cassi asked hesitantly.

"What?" Lily snapped at her friend as the stupid broom rolled over.

"Um you might just-" Cassi was cut off by Lily's attempt to raise her broom.

"UP!" Lucky for Cassi, she didn't have to be the one to tell Lily that she was calling her broom wrong since Madame Hooch walked over to help her. _ 

"Alright everyone kick off hard, we'll just be doing some simple manoeuvres today le-Mr Potter I said simple! Simple does not include roll over's! Please just listen for now, that means you too Mr Black.-As I was saying, let's start with just easy a to b runs. After we'll move into turns." Madame Hooch said as the class hovered in the air.

James and Sirius gave a half smirk-half smile and looked between each other and Madame Hooch. Lily of course thought their distraction particularly annoying and rolled her eyes. But the rest of the class found it somewhat amusing.

"Alright class, get in a line over here," Hooch said gesturing to the open space beside her. After a couple crashes the students lined up as they were told. "This is not a race," Madame Hooch paused to stare for a moment at Sirius and James, who looked between each other and pointed at them selves as though she couldn't possibly mean them. "Go as slow or as fast as you want without disturbing the other students. Your point 'b' will marked by two green flares," She flicked her wand and two lights appeared not too far off. "And…go!"

The students sped off. Sirius, James, Carter and Adam were in the lead, Cassi wasn't far behind them but she stayed closer to Lily who was still very nervous on her broom. .

By the end of the less everyone could successfully fly, though Lily hated it and Peter was nervous. Madame Hooch told them that the next day they would begin learning the rules of Quidditch and playing some small games.

The class landed and shouldered their broom walking over to the storage area. James and Sirius were talking animatedly about Quidditch and the upcoming matches, particularly the opening match between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Lily looked sufficiently shaken and couldn't understand how Cassi could love flying so much.

"It's awful! You get jostled around by the wind and always feel like your going to fall off! I can't believe you actually like it!"

"I can't believe you _don't _like it! Flying is awesome! You're completely free, you can do anything." When Lily still looked at her like she was crazy, Cassi sighed. "I'll have to find a way to describe this to you better."

Lily shrugged as they reached the storage area where Alice and Becca were already waiting. After Cassi and Lily put their brooms down they stood off to the side chatting. Carter and Adam came over to talk to them.

"Hey how'd you like flying?" Adam asked

"It was good." Alice answered shyly looking at Adam and smiling.

"Yeah it was fun." Rebecca agreed.

"I hate it!" Lily grumbled and a conversation was started between Lily, Alice, Rebecca and Adam.

"What about you?" Carter asked turning to Cassi

"I love flying, it's the best. What about you?" She replied smiling.

"Same, do you think you'll try for the Quidditch team next year?"

"Maybe, depends, I guess."

"Yeah? Well you know Ravenclaw's going to beat Gryffindor when they play!" Carter taunted. House pride was huge in Hogwarts, and so was Quidditch. So winning Quidditch matches meant bragging rights for the winning house, and no one wanted to be the one on the losing end.

"In your dreams, Gryffindor will always beat Ravenclaw!" Cassi said with a friendly/challenging smirk.

"I guess we'll just have to see."

"Guess so, but Gryffindor's still going to win." Cassi said rejoining the conversation her other friends were having.

"Do you think there'll be a Halloween Dance? My cousin said that there almost always is and it's really fun!" Alice was saying.

"Do we bring dates?" Carter asked glancing quickly at Cassi who met his gaze then looked away.

"Yeah, I think so." Alice answered a soft smile playing on her lips.

"Cool" Carter looked at Cassi when he replied to Alice and she smiled at him.

Sirius, James, Remus and Peter who were not standing very far away from the girls, were not discussing dances or dates (well that's not entirely true) but things a little less _upstanding_ , for lack of a better word.

"We need to find something to do this afternoon, and Remus if you say homework…" Sirius left the end of his threat open, not entirely sure what he would do to Remus or if he would do anything…_no I would definitely do something_ he thought.

"We could always go exploring this place is old, there's bound to be secret passageways and what-not that need discovering."

Once the last of the brooms had been put away, Madame Hooch addressed the class.

"Alright so our next lesson is tomorrow, obviously you don't have homework, so you are free to go."

With that, class was dismissed and each little group went their respective ways.

**A/N: I wasnt really sure about this chapter, i didnt know where to go with it, so here it is. REVIEW if you have any suggestions or ideas. I love to hear your thoughts. keep reading**


	15. Yes Mum

After dropping off her things in her dorm, Cassi decided to go for a walk with one objective in mind: _Find Secret Passages. _Alice and Rebecca were shopping with Owl-Order catalogues from London and Lily was reading some sort of text book.

James and Sirius had disappeared with Peter and Remus before she had even put her bag upstairs so she couldn't ask them to come with her.

Cassi said _Alone again_ she thought. _Oh well, interesting things always happen when people are alone, especially me. _

She was walking along the corridors looking behind the tapestries and statues, taping them with her wand. She found quite a few passages; once she got to the other side it took her a little while to figure out where exactly she was.

Eventually Cassi ended up in some deserted corridor on the third floor, she looked around the corner before she turned not really sure where she was or where it would go, but what she saw made her immediately retreat and listen to the conversation.

Three second years and a first year were standing at the end of the corridor (which was a dead end). Cassi recognised only two people, one of the second years with white/blonde hair named Lucius Malfoy and the first year was a small Hufflepuff by the name of Austin Brown.

Lucius was a Slytherin from a pureblood family that Cassi's Grandmother knew; she had been introduced to him earlier that summer at one of the many lunches her Grandma put on. _I knew he was bad news. _

The second year Slytherins were intimidating Austin, that much was clear, and Austin was about to be hexed. Cassi's guess was that Austin had unintentionally "disrespected" them and since they were purebloods; that just could not be tolerated.

Cassi watched a little longer, not so sure what she would do. At least, she wasn't sure what she would do until Malfoy raised his wand ready to hex Austin. Cassi just reacted; she wouldn't let some prick hex someone who could potentially be her friend. She went around the corner.

"Malfoy!" She said her voice strong with rage. One of the other second years responded as all four boys turned to look at her.

"You dare talk to him like that! Do you not know who he is?" _God this guy is dumb. _Cassi thought.

"Obviously I know who he is, I just used his name." She looked at him incredulously, he really was an idiot. The boy she insulted was enraged.

"You dare talk to me like that; who do you think you are?" Cassi shrugged off the question.

"Now if you'll excuse us, we have to get going." She said defiantly, trying to get both her and Austin out of this hostile situation.

"You think you can just disrespect Purebloods and walk away? You've got another thing coming." The other second year spoke, Malfoy simply stared her somewhat amusedly.

"I honestly couldn't care less that you're 'Purebloods'." She said rolling her eyes; Cassi had seen that coming a mile away.

"Perfect a _Mudblood." _The second boy spat the word and Malfoy laughed a cold, fake laugh but still a laugh.

"She's not a Mudblood; her blood's as pure as mine." He looked at Cassi intently as the others stared in shock. "Run along Taylor, leave us to our business." He said dismissing Cassi.

"Come on Austin, they've got business to attend to." She said and Austin began to move closer to her.

"_Immobulus" _the first boy said pointing his wand at Austin, who froze as the immobilizing spell hit him.

"I'm not leaving without him." She said speaking only to Malfoy who was clearly the leader of this group. "Finite Incantatum" Cassi said her wand pointed at Austin who began to move again, hurrying over to Cassi now.

As Malfoy raised his wand Cassi used the first jinx that came to mind, the jelly legs jinx. Immediately his legs turned to jelly and he sunk to the floor, he was unable to aim his wand properly and was forced to drag himself along the ground. The other two went after Cassi and Austin then, but Cassi was prepared and once again shot them the hex that one of them had used against Austin, _Immobulus. _

They froze in their spots and Cassi turned to Austin. "RUN!" She yelled grabbing him arm and pulling him around the corner as Malfoy shot a spell that just missed their heads, the spell instead hit the wall of the corridor with quite a big bang.

Professor McGonagall who had heard the bang was walking hurriedly, but the opposite direction of Cassi and Austin, toward the noise and of course the culprits. Cassi ran right into her Professor and head of house as she looked over her shoulder at Austin to make sure he was keeping up.

"Good heavens Miss Taylor, why on earth are you running? And what was that noise?"

"Oh sorry Professor! I didn't see you, and really it's quite a long story…" Cassi spoke quickly to her professor, the hexes would be wearing off anytime now and she really didn't want to be there when they did.

"Come with me." McGonagall said as she rounded the corner to find three Slytherin's all hexed and unable to move. "Did you do this Miss Taylor?" She said sternly.

"Um, yes Professor, but I can explain-" McGonagall cut her off as she said the counter-curses freeing the second years, rage was of course on their faces.

"Explain." She said looking at Austin.

As Austin went over everything that happened, Cassi swore she saw the ghost of a smile on McGonagall's face when she found out that one of her first years stood up to 3 older bullies to protect a fellow student. That and the fact that Cassi totally whooped the Slytherins' asses.

"You three, detention tonight at 11 with Mr Filch and tomorrow at lunch in my classroom and again at night 11 o'clock with Hagrid, and 50 house points from each of you." McGonagall said at the end of Austin's explanation to the Slytherins. Then turning to Cassi she spoke again.

"Miss Taylor Hogwarts does not approve of hexing fellow students. However, this was purely defensive. 50 points to Gryffindor for your courage in defending another student. That is all you two may go."

Cassi and Austin left, and after Austin expressed his thanks they parted ways to go to their respective common rooms.

_Well, this is pretty good, Slytherin down 150 points already and Gryffindor up 50. _Cassi thought as she passed the Entrance Hall where the hourglasses showing the house points stood. Gryffindor was in the lead followed by Ravenclaw, the extra 50 had pushed them ahead of the others.

Once she returned to the Common Room she found Sirius, James, Remus and Peter sitting on the couch where they now usually sat. Lily and the others were upstairs getting their homework out.

"Oi! Where the hell have you been?" Sirius called as she stepped through the Portrait Hole.

Cassi made her way over to the empty spot next to Sirius on the couch and sat down grinning.

"Exploring" She said simply the smile still on her face as she went over everything that happened in her end.

"Well you look happy, so care to share?" James asked from the armchair next to her.

Cassi took a deep breath and launched into the story of her afternoon's highlight. By the end of it they were all ginning with her.

"God I wish I could have seen the look on his face when you hexed him!" James said

"You did well, love." Sirius said smiling softly looking down into her eyes. Cassi found his gaze overwhelming, she felt like she couldn't breathe, her heart was beating uncontrollably and her mouth had gone dry, and yet Cassi couldn't look away.

Sirius revelled in her gaze; his mind reeled in the depth of her eye and he couldn't look away. She was so beautiful and perfect in every way. I mean she just hexed Lucius Malfoy, pureblood, intimidating Slytherin, and she loves Quidditch, she's smart and can take care of herself. She can probably pull off great pranks too. _She could be my friend_ Sirius thought. _She would never want me though, not as anything more than a stupid friend. _

"How do you Malfoy?" Remus asked. Cassi mentally shook herself, wrenching her gaze from Sirius'.

"My Grandmother knows his Grandparents or something, he was at one of her lunches in the summer, where I was introduced, the bloody prick kept talking about Slytherin."

Remus nodded and Peter looked completely amazed that she would hex a second year.

"Anyway I should probably get started on my homework, have you guys finished? You know what; I know the answer to that, you guys should start too." Cassi said as she stood up and made her way to her dorm, where she once again recounted the story of her encounter with Malfoy for her friends.

Their reactions were slightly different from the boys. They were impressed but they also thought Cassi was mentally retarded for putting herself in danger the way she did, Alice was the most adamant about this, Lily said they were just concerned for her safety.

"Guys I'm fine aren't I? Why can't you just say Good Job? Honestly, what was I supposed to do? Just let Austin get cursed into oblivion?" With Cassi's last comment the other girls dropped the nagging, just mumbled their agreement with Cassi's decision.

"Well let's get started on our homework." Lily said as she made her way to the door, the other girls following with their books and parchment.

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! like 200 people are reading this story yet pretty much NO ONE REVIEWS! I love hearing what you think so please REVIEW! **


	16. Exploring'

**A/N: Thank you to **AkiraTheDarkHuntress **for the review! Now back to the story: **

After dinner the girls returned to the common room. Curfew for first and second years was 8:00 (all it meant was that they had to be in their common rooms before 8) so there really was no point going anywhere else, and they couldn't think of anywhere else to go.

Sitting in the common room became boring very quickly. They had exhausted their usual topics of conversation: boys, gossip, Quidditch, Hogsmeade, classes, homework, and boys again. Seeing as they had only been there for 2 days they didn't know many people (or boys for that matter), the Quidditch season hadn't started yet and the first Hogsmeade weekend was _next_ weekend, so they only had enough things to talk like half an hour.

At 7:15 Cassi managed to convince her friends (it was mainly Lily who needed convincing since she was worried that they would be late coming back for curfew) to come see some of the secret passage ways she found earlier.

They were somewhere on the third floor in a passage that started on the seventh right outside their common room. The entrance covered by a tapestry of some magical historical figure that eventually they would learn about in history of magic. This was the passage way that lead to the corridor where Cassi "met" Malfoy and friends.

There was something different about that corridor, something bothered her about hit. As they walked in the dark corridor with only their wand light (Lily had found the spell before they left the common room: _Lumos_ to turn on the light and _Nox_ to put it out.) Cassi thought about why the scene bothered her so much.

She concluded that it was the fact that the corridor leads no where. Why would Malfoy be in an empty, dead-end corridor? She went over the details of the scene in her mind which wasn't hard since she was blessed with a photographic memory and could almost relive scenes from her memory over and over without even closing her eyes and still remaining functional.

That's when she had her little stroke of…well, who knows what to call it? Anyway, Cassi remembered a portrait hanging at the end of the corridor where Malfoy stood. Thing was, this portrait was different from the others. It wasn't of a scene or a Magical person or even someone random, it was a painting of a bowl of fruit.

In all of Hogwarts there was not a painting that didn't serve a purpose if it did not have some annoying little person in it. It simply did not make sense, this painting had to serve a purpose, and the only purpose Cassi could think of was that it hid an entrance to somewhere, but where?

"Guys hurry up or we won't make it back in time." Cassi said looking back and seeing that her friends had fallen behind.

"Maybe we should just turn back" Lily said hesitantly, she really did not want to be late.

"Why are going to this corridor anyway?" Becca asked. Cassi hadn't told them why other than she just had a hunch. Shockingly it was enough for her über-bored friends, but now they were beginning to doubt.

Since Cassi had reasoned out her "hunch" to herself she could tell her friends exactly why she thought they should continue. Cassi filled them in on her kind-of enlightenment as they continued down the dark passage.

Finally they reached the other end and Cassi smiled triumphantly as she saw the painting of fruit, her memory had yet to fail her. Alice stumbled out of the passage and followed Cassi over to the painting.

"What exactly are we looking for?" she asked, Cassi was staring at the painting, looking clearly for something.

"I don't know an anomaly I guess, something out of place."

"Can't we just use a spell to open it?" Becca asked

"Well I guess, but then if it was just a basic unlocking spell everyone would be able to get in. If I created it I would either use a password or a special place that you have to tap." Cassi said as Lily and Becca joined her and Alice searching for _something. _

Lily tried taping her wand against the portrait, the bowl the fruit was in and even the frame but nothing worked. Alice decided she would be look out and stood a little ways off looking for teachers, prefects and older students. Becca tapped the fruit and everything in the painting with her wand.

Cassi just continued to stare at it, tapping occasionally, trying to figure out what would be the key to the painting. After a few minutes Lily and Becca gave up, having tapped every inch of the painting.

"Come on Cassi let's just go, it doesn't open and if it does we don't know how."

"Yeah it's already 7:30"

Cassi sighed. She was sure that this stupid thing opened, it had to, it didn't make sense not to. Of all the fruit in the bowl, the pear in the middle of the bowl looked like it would be the thing to tap. It was the fruit that was most exposed, and kind of looked out of place. But Lily and Becca tried it.

She put her wand on the pear, hopping it would work. _Open_! She thought frustrated. When nothing happen she let her wand drag a little down the body of the pear. Alice's voice telling her to just leave it for now made her hand twitch back up the pear. Then something giggled, the pear giggled.

Cassi looked back at her friends and then at the pear and moved her wand up and down the pear. It giggled some more at the painting swung forward revealing an entrance. Cassi smiled back at her friends in a very 'I told you so' way.

"Come on." She said opening the portrait more and stepping through. She looked around the room as the others followed her.

She was in a _HUGE _kitchen, Hogwarts kitchen! She had heard stories from her third year cousin, Mitch, about how hard it was to find the kitchens and how awesome they were. _Well, he was right about one thing. _She thought.

A little house elf ran up to her since she was the first one through the door. "Can I get Miss anything?"

"You mean we can get food?" Cassi asked the little elf, she didn't know they could have food after the meals in the Great Hall.

"Yes Miss, Misty can get anything Misses would like to eat." The elf, Misty, replied to her.

Cassi smirked over her shoulder at her doubting friends. "Told you guys it went somewhere." The other girls were still shocked by their surroundings so they didn't respond, but they listened to Cassi's conversation with Misty.

"Do you have chocolate éclairs?"

"Of course Miss we can make some."

"You guys good with éclairs?" Cassi asked her friends who nodded and walked a little further into the kitchen.

"Could we have 8 please, Misty?"

"Yes Miss, you can sit over here they will only be a moment Miss."

"Thank you Misty." The little elf ran back to the others to help get the éclairs ready. "Hey guys, what time is it exactly?"

"Uh, 7:40-ish" Becca answered. "Shoot we've got to get back."

"Alright well we'll just take them to go and we will run back, okay?" Her friends nodded, they all looked a little worried, but didn't say anything.

"Uh, Misty, you wouldn't happen to have a bag for those would you? We're running late for curfew." Cassi said to the tiny elf.

"Of course Miss." A few seconds later she returned with a paper bag in her hands. "There you are Miss."

"Thank you Misty, and my name is Cassi, trust me, I'll be back." She smiled at the elf and then they left, practically running down the dark passage.

"Cassi how many éclairs did you get? That's a pretty big bag." Lily commented.

"8, and before you ask, I got 4 extras 'cause I figured the guys would want some, and hell it's just fun to rub in their faces." Alice burst out laughing at that, and before you knew it all four girls were laughing.

"I'd hate to be the downer, but we have less than ten minutes to get back." Becca said and of course that made the laughing stop and the running start.

They were almost at the portrait hole, and unfortunately, there was minute left till 8 and Filch was in the corridor that they needed to sprint down to make it on time. The girls crouched at the entrance to the passage trying to think of what to do. They knew that Filch would give them a detention since it was so close to 8, he wouldn't care.

"We need something to distract Mrs Norris with." Cassi whispered.

"Who's Mrs Norris?" Alice asked looking at Cassi like she had 3 heads (which is not impossible in the wizarding world as it turns out; just ask anyone who knows about Magical Creatures).

"The cat! She's like a little spy for Filch, my cousin told me." Cassi explained quickly.

"You have a cousin?" Becca asked.

"Now is really not the time" Cassi hissed at them "just think of a distraction."

"Cassi please hurry up and think I don't want to get caught!" Lily said panicking.

"Okay, okay." Cassi searched her pockets for something she could use; finding a broken quill that she didn't even know she owned, but figured it would work. "Okay, get ready to run, when I say alright?"

Her friends nodded nervously, _Merlin let this work! _Cassi thought, she took a deep breath and threw the tip of the quill to the opposite direction of the portrait hole. It landed just where she intended it to, a little past the corner where another corridor intersected with the one they were in.

The metal hitting the stone floor made a _ping_ and instantly Mrs Norris and Filch's heads jerked toward the noise, Mrs Norris let out a hilarious _me-uff-ow_

"Come on Mrs Norris we've got them now. They won't get away this time." Filch's voice was almost a sneer, he really hated students and had it out for them, always wanting to get them in trouble.

As soon as they rounded the corner, Cassi pulled her friends out of the passage and they ran as quietly and quickly as possible to the portrait.

"Mandrake" Cassi said the password as the Fat Lady chuckled, swinging forward to let them in.

The girls rushed in, and Cassi smiled at how close they came to getting caught and Alice started laughing as they sat down at the table they were sitting at earlier.

"Did you see how excited he got when he thought he caught someone?" Alice choked out and the other girls laughed too remembering the crazy cat meow.

Once they had calmed down, Lily suggested that they go upstairs to enjoy the éclairs.

"Yeah I agree we don't want the prefects to see them." Alice said.

"Um what about them? Guys just stay here for a bit, I'll talk to them and we can go up after." Cassi said nodding to the boys on the couches in front of the fire who were looking over curiously. Remus was reading some kind of book and Sirius and James were having a discussion about who knows what, Peter was listening to their conversation only saying a few things every now and then.

The girls smiled as they took out three of the éclairs from the bag and began to eat. Cassi watched her friends enjoy themselves and decided to go before eating hers.

"Hey guys I didn't see you at dinner, or after for that matter." She said sitting down on the carpet cross legged in front of them so she was facing all of them.

"Yeah, we finished pretty quickly and then went exploring." Sirius answered.

"Did you guys find anything interesting?" She said completely aware of the curiosity in all of their gazes and her friends watching and whispering as they enjoyed their éclairs.

"Not really just some passage ways" Remus said looking up from his book. Cassi nodded.

"What about you? You were late for curfew." James pointed out.

"_Barely _late, we would have made it but Filch was in the corridor outside with his stupid cat, waiting to catch someone, so we had to distract him. The guy has some serious issues; all he cares about is getting kids in trouble with his cat." Sirius and James laughed at her comment, Remus and Peter just chuckled quietly.

"But what were you doing? Did you get into another fight with Malfoy?" Sirius asked.

"No actually, we were exploring too."

"From that tone I'm guessing there's more to that story than just 'exploring'." Remus said marking his page and closing his book.

"You've guessed right, Remus. Be right back," She said hopping up and walking over to the table where her friends sat. All the boys this time watched her go.

It was quite a distance away so the boys couldn't see exactly what they were doing, let alone that they were eating éclairs. Cassi grabbed the bag and returned to the carpet. Cassi looked at the boys, waiting for the suspense to kick in and for someone to ask.

"Okay what's in the bag?" Sirius asked.

Cassi grinned mischievously and reached into the bag, pulling out one of the chocolate éclairs. All the boys' eyes widened in surprise.

"An éclair? Where the hell did you get one of those?" James exclaimed. Cassi swung her leg out from underneath her and kicked him in the shin. "Ow!"

"Shut up will you!" James grinned sheepishly and rubbed his shin. "And I didn't just get one, I got 8. Lily, Becca and Alice each have one so there are 5 left, want one?"

"Yeah!" Cassi rolled her eyes at their excitement and handed them out taking one for herself.

"So wait where'd' you get theses?" Remus asked taking a bite.

"Well while we were exploring we found the Kitchens and a-" Sirius cut Cassi's explanation off.

"You found the kitchens? It's supposed to be really hard to find!" The look of shock and disbelief on Sirius and James' faces were priceless. Exactly what Cassi had expected and she glanced over at her friends to see them smiling at her.

"I know, but we found them I guess it's a good thing we brought proof back, you guys wouldn't have believed me."

"Well, I'm glad you did bring back proof, it's delicious!" Peter said almost done his éclair.

"How'd' you get the food? Did you have to steal it?"

"No a house elf asked if we wanted anything, so naturally…" Cassi shrugged and took another bite of éclair.

"I can't believe you found the Kitchens before us" James said "And we thought we would be the ones sneaking around!" Cassi smiled at them, _they would be great friends_.

"Hey Cassi, next time you go 'exploring' bring us along, sounds like fun!" Sirius said.

"Will do, Sirius. I think Lily and them are going up now so I'll see you guys tomorrow."

The boys watched as Cassi left them and returned to her friends before going upstairs to their dorm. All of them had the same thought in their head _Cassi is our kind of girl. _They all felt that she would a great friend, a perfect addition to their little group. She would be fun to explore with, to pull pranks with and to just chill. _After all, they would need a girl to keep them in check_.

**A/N: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE _REVIEW _****that's all i ask. **


	17. A Long Seven Years

The next morning passed much in the same way. Everyone got up, showered, dressed, did their make up and hair (if they were a girl) and went for breakfast. Then it got really boring, really quickly.

Professor Binns, the ghost professor of History of Magic, was the dullest person in the history of the world. He couldn't be exciting for his life…well, that is if he wasn't already dead.

After 20 minutes most of the students were asleep or almost asleep. The Gryffindors amused themselves by passing notes, Cassi was the only one to receive any notes from the boys and Lily was the only one to actually take notes.

(A/N: **Sirius; ****James; **_**Cassidy **_writing notes to each other_**)**_

**I'm sooo bored **

**Who isn't? **

**True…we should do something **

**Like what? **

**Snivellus could use a wake up call **

Sirius crumpled a piece of parchment and threw it at the back of Severus' head, which snapped up and glared at the whole class trying to figure out who threw the paper at him. Binns hadn't noticed a single thing.

Cassi shoved a piece of parchment at James and Sirius who ducked their heads and were chuckling.

_**I'm pretty sure you two just started a war. **_

Sirius and James looked around the class and noticed that a few of the Slytherin's were creating their own balls from the parchment.

**I think we managed to make this class fun!**

_**Yeah as long as Binns doesn't find out; my mother would kill me if I got detention…but then that just makes it more fun! **_

**That's the spirit! **

**We'll have a detention by the end of the day anyway **

Cassi grinned at their last comments as a ball of parchment meant to hit Sirius fell short and hit her in the head. She picked it up and threw it at the Slytherin that hit her, Binns was still oblivious.

_**Yeah, me too if I keep listening to you. **_

Cassi ducked as another piece came flying at her, instead hitting Remus, who in turn threw it at the offender. Before they knew it everyone was participating in the fight, save for Lily, who scowled at her friends for taking part. The great "war" finally came to end when a stupid Slytherin screwed up and threw the paper right through Professor Binns.

Cassi's eyes widened in shock, and the entire class room went _really _quietbefore Sirius and James burst into laughter along with Cassi. Then everyone was laughing, even Lily cracked a smile.

Eventually the class quieted when Binns threatened a 10 foot essay on the founding of the Ministry (no one paid attention to his threats of detentions).

By the end of the lesson everyone was asleep again, and they had 4 inches of homework. They packed up their bags, the Gryffindors heading toward the Quidditch Pitch.

For their flying lesson they played a game of Quidditch, but with four chasers instead of three to accommodate everyone in the houses. The game would be Gryffindor verses Ravenclaw and it was much anticipated with tons of insults as each of the teams trained privately for the first half hour.

The Positions of the Gryffindor team were as follows:

**Keeper:** Remus Lupin

**Chasers:** Cassidy Taylor

Sirius Black

Lily Evans

Peter Pettigrew

**Beaters:** Alice Davies

Rebecca Smith

**Seeker:** James Potter

The strategy was to put weak players in positions that stronger players could help them, for example Lily and Peter were supported by Sirius and Cassi. Lily didn't even care just as long as she was still alive by the end of the lesson and Peter was too nervous to notice.

For the first half hour, Sirius and Cassi ran through manoeuvres and took shots on Remus, who tried to save them. Alice and Becca practiced shooting bludgers through the goal hoops, and James practiced finding the snitch.

Then it was time for the game. More insults were exchanged as James and Carter (Ravenclaw's Seeker) shook hands, anyone that was friends with someone in the other house became enemies talking smack and putting each other down, Cassi included.

When the Quaffle was thrown, Cassi took position, flying toward Ravenclaw's end, dodging a bludger easily and passing to Sirius. He passed back as his path was blocked by Adam and Cassi scored the first 10 points of the game. As she flew back to the center, Sirius gave her a high five and the game continued.

With Gryffindor leading 170-100 James caught the snitch ending the game and adding 150 points to Gryffindor's end score, making it 320-100. It seems that it would have taken a long time for James to catch the snitch since they had 170 points, but really it had only been 45 minutes, Ravenclaw's keeper _really_ sucked.

When James raised his hand with the snitch triumphantly inside, and Madame Hooch blew the whistle all the Gryffindors cheered, even Lily. The team landed and collided in a group hug, one arm wrapped around each other and the other still grasped their brooms cheering, James was in the middle of the huddle, grinning in victory.

Sirius pulled Cassi out of the huddle and hugged her tightly in exhilaration and Cassi, of course, returned the hug smiling, her head against his muscular shoulder. They separated after a few moments, but for Cassi, the hug was far too short, she missed the comfort of his arms as soon as he pulled away.

Sirius loved the fruity scent of her hair and the feeling of her in his arms. He couldn't help but think that she belonged there; she fit perfectly in his embrace. Reluctantly Sirius pulled away from his missing piece, his perfect part, to congratulate his best friend.

Even while she was talking to Lily and hugging Alice, she was still thinking about Sirius. Cassi didn't really know what was happening to her, why she felt the way she did, she was completely confused, and yet she knew she wanted to be around Sirius.

And Sirius. Merlin knows he was screwed up over this. _What the hell? _His mind screamed. _Why are you feeling like this? What are you feeling! You stupid git, you weren't supposed to ruin this friendship and then you go and hug her. Now you can't even stop __**thinking **__about her! _

He was patting James on the back, saying something along the lines of congratulations and yet his mind was bitching at him.

"Sirius mate, you okay?" James asked, it took a while for his yelling mind to respond and that is when James knew something was up.

Sirius glanced at Cassi before responding.

"What? Yeah I'm fine…"

James didn't answer, he just stared unconvinced by Sirius' response, but his silence went unnoticed by his friend, who was watching Cassi brag about the win (good-naturedly) to Carter and Adam along. Her other friends were talking to the other Ravenclaw boys, but Sirius didn't care. He mentally shook himself to clear his thoughts of Cassi, but it only worked for a few moments.

He turned his attention back to his friends who were talking to a few of the Ravenclaw girls about the game. Madame Hooch told them all to return their brooms to the shed, which they did, and then she dismissed them for lunch.

As they walked back to the castle, Sirius was quiet, still focusing on his thoughts and all his friends took notice. They exchanged looks that clearly said _What the hell's wrong with him? _Not one of them had seen him hug Cassi and none of them had felt the way he had, there was no way for them to understand, or even guess what the problem was.

Every so often Sirius stole a glance at Cassi, he marvelled at her carefree beauty and grace and he yearned to be closer to her. Absentmindedly, Sirius sat down at the Gryffindor table, and finally gained some measure of normalcy when Cassi and her friends sat farther down the table.

_Merlin this is going to be a long seven years. _Sirius thought as he served himself some quesadillas.

**A/N: Fancy a review? I would. Over 300 people read this story yet no one reviews! So please REVIEW! **


	18. Spells and a Suit of Armour

After lunch was double transfiguration, which would mean tons of homework as it was their last transfiguration class of the week.

This class, they started with changing teacups to mice and back. Peter had difficulties as usual a long with a few others, but the rest of the Gryffindors did fairly well. Cassi in particular excelled and enjoyed the class, finding it satisfying to change an ordinary tea cup into a living, breathing little mouse.

McGonagall seemed to be impressed when Cassi changed the cup into a mouse, albeit an ugly, bald one, on her first try. Those that were successful in transfiguring the tea cup worked on turning the cup into different coloured mice (a brown and white one, black and orange, even a purple one) and turning the mouse into a specifically patterned cup.

Sirius and James entertained themselves throughout the lesson by making their cups with insults naming different people in the class written on them. Including one that Lily helped with:

_James Pottey is an insufferable prat _(Sirius accidently misspelled James' last name, though it just added to Lily's enjoyment).

At one point Sirius managed to make the cup read out Lily's personal favourite:

"_Calling James Potter an idiot would be an insult to all the stupid people"_

which successfully ended that entertainment since it was loud enough for McGonagall to hear.

With about 15 minutes left of the lesson McGonagall stepped outside to speak with Filch about something or other, and that was just a disaster waiting to happen. James levitated his mouse onto Remus' head, who, being shocked, dropped his teacup and flung the mouse off and onto Cassi's shoulder, where it jumped to a Ravenclaw's desk.

"Catch that mouse!" James yelled jumping onto a desk trying to catch it. Sirius knocked over a couple chairs as he ran after it.

Soon the whole class was involved, two Ravenclaw girls were cheering them on, the other two screaming every time the mouse came near them, the boys looked at them like they were mental and made futile attempts at catching the damn thing, Lily, Alice and Becca laughed and were pretty amused but didn't try to help, and Cassi, Remus, Peter, Sirius and James all chased the mouse trying to catch it.

A couple times the boys came close, but they kept missing it, and quickly became frustrated.

"Alright this is just ridiculous," Cassi picked up her wand and looked for the mouse, finding it on McGonagall's desk, "Immobulus!"

The spell hit the mouse as soon as McGonagall returned to the class she saw Cassi with her wand pointed at the mouse and Sirius, James, and Remus sprawled around the class.

"Taylor, Potter, Black, Lupin my office now!" Suffice it to say she was enraged making her pretty scary looking. As they left McGonagall vanished the mouse and returned the class to order.

Out in the hall they all exchanged looks and burst into laughter as they walked to McGonagall's office.

"Told you, detention by the end of the day!" James said chuckling.

They all sobered up though when they walked into her office and took a seat.

"I'm getting a howler tomorrow" Cassi said sighing.

"I can't believe I'm getting a detention on the second day of classes." Remus said shaking his head.

"It's not that bad, we don't even know that we're getting a detention." James said hopefully.

"James who are you kidding? We _destroyed_ the classroom" Cassi said looking at him.

"That was pretty fun though" Sirius said with a reminiscent smile.

They forgot their punishment momentarily as they waited for McGonagall to come, and they laughed and talked as though they were waiting for dinner not detention.

:.:.:

After a quick dinner Sirius, James, Remus and Cassi headed to the trophy room to serve their detention.

Lily had scolded Cassi along with Alice much to Rebecca's amusement, and Peter seemed lost with all of his friends leaving for detention. Lily agreed to help Peter with his transfiguration and Charms from the day before.

The four delinquents grudgingly entered the Trophy room where Filch was waiting with a disgustingly pleased smile. They were to polish all the Trophies in the room. Filch would check on them every so often but after they were finished they were allowed to leave. As soon as Filch left they got to work, each taking a different wall.

"I swear he lives for punishing students!" Cassi commented on Filch's obvious enjoyment of punishing students. All the boys added their agreement to her statement.

"I'd say he deserves a prank." She said polishing the Head Boy plaque. James, Sirius and Remus all turned to look at her grinning and Cassi turned around to face them still holding the plaque.

"What'd' you have in mind?" Sirius asked and Cassi smiled deviously.

"Do you guys still have dung bombs?" Cassi's question left Remus looking uneasy and the other two curious.

"Yeah we've got like 10 I think" James answered.

"Perfect…" With that Cassi divulged her plans, the boys adding some additional details here and there. As soon as they found a proper charm to use their plan would be set into action and hopefully it wouldn't be long.

After an hour and a half they had finished all the trophies and so they headed to the library, something Sirius and James weren't too thrilled about but consented to go, to research potential charms.

Each of them took a spell book and sat down at a secluded table in the back of the library. Cassi and Remus looked for a charm to use for one part of the prank and Sirius and James looked for another.

"Here, I think it'll work." Cassi said pointing at a spell. "_Locomotor Solaris_: makes an object follow another item (human, animal, bewitched object) while still moving independently, lasts from 10 minutes to 8 hours." She said reading the description, Remus looked over her shoulder to read in detail the instructions.

"It sounds complicated Cassi" He said frowning as Sirius and James flipped the book so they could read, James frowned slightly.

"It'll just take a bit of work, besides we haven't found anything else."

"Yeah and I'm sure Cassi can figure it out." Sirius said grinning.

"No pressure though right?" Sirius nodded as James grabbed the spell book he was looking at and read out a spell that he found.

"_Anime_ _Converse-Babbliosa Continuum_: makes an object talk continuously in a conversational manner, lasts from 30 minutes to 8 hours."

"Perfect, now all we need is a suit of armour." Cassi said picking up the books and leaving the library.

"Oh is that all" Remus said sarcastically and the four laughed as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower.


	19. World Domination

"So are we any closer to finding a suit of armour?" Cassi asked as she, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter (they had agreed to let him in on the prank) sat in the deserted common room late the Thursday night following the detention.

"Finding one is easy, the castle is filled with them, finding one that's willing to co-operate is the hard part!" James grumbled.

"I didn't expect them to be bewitched violent, we were chased down the corridor by one with an axe" Remus complained shaking his head at the memory.

"I honestly didn't think it would be this difficult, it's not a though we could conjure one either…" Cassi trailed off thinking of something else they could use, of course they had already looked at other things but nothing fit the part or would agree.

"I say we split up tomorrow and hunt down other options and look for something that'll work" Sirius said and the group of plotting pranksters nodded.

"Alright well, Remus, Peter and I will go together and you two." James said knowing that Sirius liked Cassi even if he didn't admit it yet. Cassi and Sirius smiled at each other and Remus exchanged a knowing glance with James.

"Well boys, I should probably head up to bed, see you lot tomorrow" With that Cassi left the boys even though she wasn't really tired. She would be spending tomorrow evening with Sirius…_and that smile, that drop-dead gorgeous smile. _

As Cassi tucked herself into bed and closed her eyes the last thing she remembered was Sirius' brilliant smile.

:.:.:

While searching the deserted corridors for a willing participant in their scheme Sirius and Cassi joked and laughed with each other. Cassi loved Sirius' bark-like laugh and the way he smiled at her, she wanted nothing more than to be with him.

"Cassi…uh, I was wondering…" Sirius trailed off nervously as they stopped at the end of the corridor, Cassi gazing up into his beautiful stormy, grey eyes. She nodded encouragingly and Sirius took a deep breath and looked down nervously before continuing.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me" Sirius said looking to see Cassi smiling at him.

"Like on a date?" Sirius still looked really nervous.

"Yeah..."

"I'd love to" Cassi said as Sirius beamed at her and suddenly he went from being nervous to confident.

Sirius brushed a strand of her back behind her ear, leaving his hand caressing her cheek and bent his head slightly bringing his lips to Cassi's giving her a chaste kiss, and after a only a few seconds he pulled away from her, both of them smiling, Cassi a little more shyly than Sirius.

He moved his hand to the back of her neck and brought his other to her lower back as he kissed her again, this time more passionately. Instinctually, Cassi's hands moved to his shoulders her fingers playing with his hair.

"Cassidy…" Sirius mumbled against her lips.

"Cassidy…_wake up_!_" _Cassi groaned as Lily shook her awake.

_It was all just a dream! A dream…Oh My Godric! I just had a dream about bloody Sirius Black! _Cassi sat bolt upright in her bed a look of sheer panic and horror on her face.

"Cassi are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just going to go have a shower."

Absentmindedly, Cassi walked over to the bathroom and climbed into the warm shower.

_I can NOT believe I had a dream about __**kissing **__Black! _In her horror, Cassi began to refer to Sirius by his last name; it was less personal, less alarming.

_You know he's a charmer. He'll probably become the playboy of Hogwarts and you __**just **__had a dream about kissing him! _Cassi scrubbed herself aggressively as if she thought she could physically scrub away whatever it was that made her dream that awful dream.

_I just had that dream because he's bloody gorgeous but he's still a git (according to Lily) and he __**might**__ end up as a friend, but that's it. I don't __**fancy**__ him or anything; I can just recognize a hot guy when I see one. Yeah, that's it. Just calm down and keep your distance…Crap! I can't do that I have to go find a suit of armour with him later! Damn you James Potter!_

Cassi shut of the water, and her current train of thoughts, to get dressed and head down to an uneventful, boy free breakfast. In fact the entire day was fairly quiet. Cassi didn't exactly ignore the boys completely, but she wasn't overly friendly with them.

She paid more attention to Sirius, though discreetly, trying to figure out what kind of guy he really was. She noticed that he flirted incessantly with pretty much every girl, excluding Cassi's friends, and winked at the good looking ones in the corridors. Cassi also noticed that the girls he favoured with attention all smiled and batted their lashes at him.

It was then that Cassi decided Sirius Black was not boyfriend material, period, end of story. He would be an amazing friend, but that's it, he was way too much of a flirt for Cassi to even consider him as anything else. Even if she did fancy him, which she didn't, she wouldn't be able to handle dating someone who always looked at other girls, maybe she was just controlling but it would not work for her.

So Cassi moved on. She put that damned dream behind her and smiled at the other boys, Carter and Rob, and when she did, Sirius always managed to just show up out of no where as though he was jealous and didn't want them to talking to Cassi.

By the time dinner came around, Cassi thought of Sirius as only a friend, a hot friend, but a friend none the less.

After in the Common Room, Cassi sat with Lily, Alice and Becca doing their homework at a table when Sirius walked up to them.

"Hey Cassi, you ready?" Sirius asked half smiling at Cassi as she stood up and began packing her things up.

"Cassi you're leaving again?" Cassi smiled apologetically at Alice raising one shoulder.

"Yeah, sorry I forgot to tell you guys."

"What have you lot been doing all this time that you sneak off?" Lily asked as Cassi shrugged.

"Oh you know, nothing much just plotting world domination." She replied jokingly, Sirius chuckled at her explanation. Having finished putting her things away, Cassi added, "Sirius I've just got to put this upstairs alright?"

Sirius nodded and watched her hurry to the stairs and disappear before turning back to the other girls.

"So, where are the others?" Becca asked curiously glancing around the common room for Sirius' friends.

"They've already gone." He replied simply, his words seemed spiked Alice's interest.

"So it's just you and Cassi tonight?"

"Yeah…" Sirius wasn't really sure what was going on since they all exchanged a significant look.

Just then Cassi came back from her dorm with what looked like a letter in her hand.

"Alice this is for you, there was a barn owl waiting at the window upstairs." She said handing the parchment to Alice who took it saying a thank you before Sirius and Cassi left to hunt down a suit of armour.

**A/N: Please Review it makes my life! Thank you to Twiluvr97 for the reviews 8D**


	20. Mistakes

"Why do you look so confused?" Cassi asked as they walked along the seventh floor.

"Your friends…I told them the others already left, that it was just us two tonight and they got all weird exchanging a look."

_Oh no, I don't talk in my sleep do I? _Cassi thought remembering her dream.

"You really have no clue?" When Sirius shook his head Cassi continued, "They're just reading too much into nothing." She replied with a shrug. _I hope that sounded convincing. _

_So us hanging out alone together is nothing according to her. Well, what did I really expect? That someone like her would want me? One can always hope. _Sirius thought as he smiled and nodded, though her comment stabbed at him cruelly.

"So where should we start?" Cassi asked glancing sideways at Sirius, who she found to be too quiet.

"I don't know" Sirius said frowning slightly.

They stopped on the seventh floor in front of a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls to dance. Sirius leaned against the wall beside the tapestry and Cassi paced back and forth, each trying to come up with a suggestion on where to start.

_A suit of armour willing to follow Filch around with dung bombs, to be bewitched, cursed and probably abused, and yet stick with the mission _this thought went continuously through her head seeing as it was apparently a hopeless cause. On Cassi's third time passing the place that Sirius stood, he looked up at her was stunned by what he saw.

"Uh, Cassi, was that there before?" He said gesturing to a door on the opposite wall.

Cassi looked up from her thoughts and looked at the door, then back at Sirius.

"That most definitely there before." She grinned at Sirius as he walked over to her and the two of them moved to the door.

Cassi took her wand out, as did Sirius, and Sirius turned the knob.

"Ladies first" He said with a grand gesture.

"Oh aren't you a prince" Cassi said sarcastically stepping into the room. Sirius came in and shut the door behind them.

Looking around there was a suit of armour, a few spell books and dung bombs.

"What the hell" Sirius said looking around as Cassi went over to inspect the suit of armour only to find that it was just a regular suit, not bewitched in any way.

"I think we found our suit!" She grinned.

"Yeah but where are we?"

"I don't know, did you like conjure it or something?"

"No did you?"

"All I did was thinking over and over again what we needed for the prank, and then…"

"What is this place?" As though in answer to Sirius' question another book appeared in the room, Cassi walked over to it and picked it up.

"Hogwarts: A History?" she opened the cover and read the table of contents, "Houses, Passages, The Forest, Hogsmeade, Myths: the chamber of secrets and Room of Requirement…well that's got to be it."

Cassi flipped to the section on the 'Room of Requirement' as Sirius came to read over her shoulder. After they had read the short passage, Cassi grinned at Sirius.

"We've just found one of Hogwarts' greatest mysteries."

Cassi's breath tickled his neck as she turned around and looked up at him. Sirius' scent was light and musky, a combination of warm, silky honey and rich, strong earth. The result was intoxicating for Cassi, it was soothing and calming, yet it made her stomach flutter and her heart rate quicken. She could barely keep herself from kissing him.

_Merlin why does she have to be so damn beautiful? She smells like peaches and vanilla…I just… I want to kiss her…just…_

Sirius bent down and covered her lips with his. At first she was startled but after a second or two Cassi relaxed into the kiss. He brought one hand around to the back of her neck and the other to the small of her back deepening the kiss, Cassi brought her hands up to his shoulders, her fingers playing with his gorgeous hair.

When they broke apart for air Cassi was smiling up at him, almost lovingly, can it really be love if they've only known each other for what, a week? And Sirius grinned down at her, loving the feeling of having her in his arms, the softness of his lips and the overwhelming allure of her scent.

He stared into her eyes and was thinking about kissing her again, when he finally grasped what it was that he had just done. He took his hands off her and stepped back, Cassi's arms fell off his neck where they were loosely resting. Seeing the shock, confusion and hurt in her eyes, he turned away from her, bringing one hand over his mouth. _They're going to kill me._ He thought as he recalled a conversation from earlier that week:

_After a night of plotting with Cassi, James and Remus had noticed Sirius being __**overly **__friendly with her. Knowing that Sirius was a bit of a player, constantly talking about girls and flirting incessantly, they were less than thrilled to see him flirting with their friend. Cassi was more than just another girl to them, she had become like a sister in the short week that they knew her, and they looked out for her, trying to protect her from being hurt by anything or anyone. _

_So when they were all getting ready for bed, James and Remus cornered Sirius, stern looks on their faces. _

"_What the hell are you doing with Cassi?" James had asked looking at him coldly. Sirius just raised an eyebrow at him. _

"_What are you talking about?" _

"_Oh come on Sirius, don't play dumb, you know exactly what we're talking about." Sirius nodded uneasily, Remus had never looked so intimidating. _

"_So what are you doing? You can't flirt with anything in a skirt and then pull the same thing with Cassi." James pulled off the part of over protective brother well. He was intimidating and definitely in control of the conversation._

"_Sirius why? Why Cassi too?" Remus' normally warm brown eyes were cold and demanding. _

"_I like her" Sirius shrugged. _

"_Cassi is not one of the slags you take to a broom closet to snog. She's actually decent, so don't pull this 'I like her' crap because we all know you say that about every girl until you get bored. Then you just toss them." James' face took on a bit of rage at Sirius' explanation and his thoughts on what Sirius would do to Cassi. Once again Sirius shrugged and Remus took a step closer to him, looking actually menacing. _

"_Sirius do you understand how great a girl Cassi is? If you break her like you do the others…" James joined Remus, both of them standing extremely close to Sirius. _

"_We will beat the living crap out of you until you wish you never met any of us." James finished Remus' threat, and Sirius was actually scared, he knew that if stepped over the line with Cassi he would be dead, no question about it. "Understand?" _

"_Yeah, I got it." What Sirius hadn't told them was that he __**actually **__liked her. He really liked her. This wasn't just him wanting to snog her because she was pretty, this was him wanting something more with her, him wanting her to be his girlfriend, long term. At least he thought it was. _

"That was a mistake…Sorry…I've got to go find James" With that Sirius walked out of the Room of Requirement, leaving Cassi utterly confused and hurt.

_Kissing me was a mistake. Godric Cassi you're so stupid, of course it would be a mistake! Did you think that he would like __**you**__? _Cassi thought as she stared after Sirius.

Then she walked back to Gryffindor tower slowly, thinking over her evening with Sirius and the _mistake._ Once she got into the Common Room she wasn't really paying attention and just made her way up to her dorm.

**A/N: Chapter 20 people! REVIEWS anyone? I love them! Thanks to Syd () and Spot123 for the reviews. **


	21. Pretend It Never Happened

**A/N: Thank you to Snoopygirl213 for the review. Unfortunately that was the only one. I totally love that so many people are reading my story, honestly it thrills me, but it really doesnt take that long to review, even if it's just a 'Great Story' it makes my day! So please leave a review, good or bad, i'd love to hear your thoughts. **

"As Cassi walked into the Common Room, Lily, Alice and Rebecca were sitting on their usual couch, they had been expecting her to return with Sirius and the other boys, so when she didn't they were…interested to say the least. When she walked absent-mindedly up the stairs to their dorm, all three girls knew something was wrong, and she was going to them.

After exchanging a quick glance they got up and followed their friends up the stairs. They found her sitting on her bed looking out the window.

"Cassi? What's wrong? What happened?" Lily asked softly going to sit beside her. Alice and Becca sat on the bed across from them.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Nothing happened." Cassi said forcing a smile to her lips, but it didn't reach her eyes, something her friends easily picked up on.

"Cass, come on, just tell us. What's up?" Alice said softly. After a few moments Cassi sighed, and looking up her friends she spoke.

"Oh guys I don't know. I don't know what's going on. Everything's just a mess." Cassi covered her face in her hands and Lily put a hand on her back.

"Does it have to do with Sirius?" Becca asked. All the girls were speaking softly, almost whispering; obviously they were discussing a sensitive subject. Cassi nodded and took a deep breath moving her head from her hands; she began to retell the night's events.

"He kissed you?" Alice asked when Cassi had finished her story; Cassi nodded once and looked down at the floor.

"And then he said it was a mistake? I'm gonna beat the shit out of him." Becca said, the shocking thing was, she wasn't kidding. Cassi smiled at her softly.

"I don't know what I was thinking! I mean he's been here for a week and already he's flirted with pretty much every girl and snogged tons of them! I'm just being an idiot. It didn't even mean anything" When the girls just looked at Cassi with their eyebrows raised she continued, "Well, to him."

_She honestly looks defeated, like she was a complete screw-up for being hurt by a complete jerk._ Lily thought as her dislike for the Sirius Black went up by like, a thousand notches. _How could he do this to her? __**No one, **__especially not Black, gets to hurt my friends! Hurt Sev, fine, he's a guy and he'll hex back, but toy with a girl's emotions…_ Lily's thoughts trailed off bitterly as Cassi spoke.

"I don't know what to do, I don't want to like him, I don't want to care." Cassi looked at all her friends for advice, and it was Alice who came up with an idea.

"Then you're going to have to get over him. And of course the best way to do that is to ignore him. Trust me it'll drive him crazy, all of them actually. I've seen how much they like being around you Cass, what you've got to do is treat him like he's just another stuck up bloke. I know it sounds easier said than done, but you can do it." Alice gave her a supportive nod.

"Yeah, and you'll just hang out with us way more than you have been. We've really missed you." Lily said with a smile.

"And, I'm pretty sure Carter and Rob like you, so they'll be giving tons of attention, doesn't mean you have to date yet, it might be a bit soon, but it can't hurt." Becca added raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Thanks so much guys, I don't know what I'd do without you."

:.:.:

The next day, with the support of her friends, Cassi tried to pretend like nothing even happened. She practically ignored Sirius the entire morning, having been with at least one of the girls at all times; it wasn't hard. He couldn't say anything in front of them and it seemed like he couldn't work up the courage to ask to speak to her privately. Mostly because he knew that she would either say 'no' or yell in his face.

With all the other girls he'd snogged so far, he hadn't cared how any of them felt. He hadn't cared if they yelled at him or if they were upset. He simply shrugged it off and told himself it wasn't his fault they were emotionally unstable. So why did he care so much with Cassi?

Was it because she was his friend, kind of-sort of? Or because of James and Remus' threat? If they found out…He didn't even want to go there. Sirius knew what the real answer was; he just didn't want to admit it to himself since he knew that if it was true, he had just lost _any _shot.

He told himself over and over, that it didn't mean anything, it was a mistake. He _didn't _care. She would get over it…Oh who the hell was he kidding? Of course he cared! He cared so much. She was his friend, and he cared about her, how she felt. He couldn't stand to see her upset like he had the previous night, let alone know that he was the cause of it. Just that knowledge alone felt unbearable, and seeing her eyes last night, when he had pulled away from her, the hurt in them had stabbed him a thousand times through the heart.

_It was just a kiss…except that it wasn't __**just **__a kiss, it was so much more. _The thought echoed through his mind, as he almost relieved the experience through his memory. The feeling of her soft lips touching his, moving with his. His hand at the back of her neck, tangled in her silky hair, and his other hand on her back, holding her thin frame to his muscular one. The way she seemed to naturally fit with him, like the two were made for each other, like they were meant to be together. It was something Sirius had **never **felt with anyone else, all the other girls he had snogged (and there was a lot) had never come close to the feeling he got with Cassi.

_James and Remus would kill me. _Sirius tried to justify his actions. I mean really, of all the idiotic things to do, he left telling her that the kiss was a mistake. Was he really that much of a moron? Did he not consider what those words meant? How she would feel? The truth was, _no I didn't think of anyone but myself, I didn't consider her at all_, _I just left, because that was the easy thing to do. I proved James and Remus right. I was a self-centered git, and I don't deserve her. They were right; I deserve to be beaten to a pulp and left to die._

Sirius had been thinking about for quite a while, almost all morning actually. He hadn't focused on the lessons, but he watched Cassi, the girl he was a right prat to, more than a prat, there wasn't even a word fit to describe him he was so bad.

On the surface it seemed as though nothing had happened. She was just hanging out with the girls. She had made some excuse to James and Remus who asked at breakfast why she wasn't sitting with them, _"I'm gonna hang out with the girls a bit, I haven't exactly spent a lot of time with them"_ She had smiled and shrugged at all the right places, she was damn good at hiding her feelings, and the others accepted it as the truth, they couldn't argue, what she had said was true, though it wasn't the real reason behind her coldness.

She hadn't even looked Sirius in the eye when she was talking, but Sirius saw it in her face, the thing he had so often studied the past week. He knew her face well, and though she covered up her thoughts and forced a smile that didn't look forced (she even managed to get a little sparkle in her eyes, though it was nothing to the usual radiance that could be found there) she couldn't get the little creases around her eyes that she got when she was really smiling perfect. The small things, the tiny, insignificant details that no one would likely notice except those that knew her exceptionally well, were the things that told him just how much he had hurt her.

That's when he knew he needed to talk to her. To tell exactly how he felt. That he loved her…_whoa, love? Nuh-uh nope. Sirius Black didn't love, couldn't love, couldn't be loved…But it is love, isn't it? That's what I feel, that's why I care. I, Sirius Black, love Cassidy Maya Taylor. But I don't deserve her, I never will, she deserves someone so much better than me…that said, well thought, she deserves to know that she did nothing wrong. I can not be the reason behind her pain_

For the rest of the morning, the last half hour of Potions, the time in between classes (15 minutes) and all of Defence against the Dark Arts, Sirius looked for an opportunity to talk to Cassi. He was hoping she would be alone, for even just a few minutes so they could talk, but one of her friends stayed by her side at all times, and they occasionally threw him disgusted glares.

_Great. She told them. I guess I can't really blame her…but how am I going to talk to her now? There's no way I'm going to go ask her to talk with them there, they would just tell me to shove off, although probably less politely (that's what I would do anyways)…Well they can't be with her forever, eventually she will have to be alone… _

Luckily for Sirius, none of the boys questioned him on his strange behaviour, they felt it best to just let him tear whatever it was that was bothering him to shreds and then ask about it, they had learned that the hard way…_Never again will I ask him about what his mind is bitching at _James thought, noticing Sirius' expression and recalling the conversation about Kristie Walker, much of which was debating whether she would be worth Sirius' trouble or not. James shook his head as he continued to copy notes from the board, _never again. _

**A/N: REVIEW?**


	22. How bad can he be?

**A/N: Thanks to Ashdoda, mizpotter () and fruityloops156 for the reviews! Reviews inspire me to keep writing, so please, good or bad, send a review! **

On the way to lunch, opportunity struck. Cassi went to girls' restroom, telling her friends that she would meet them in the Great Hall. Sirius, noticing this, lingered while the rest of the boys continued on to lunch. He felt that this would his only chance to talk to her alone, and he wasn't going to talk to her in front of other people.

Cassi walked out of the washroom fixing her hair slightly and was about to follow her friends when she noticed Sirius standing by the wall. _Oh fun. Well I guess I can't avoid him forever. _

"Cassi, can we talk?" He asked moving toward her, Cassi smiled.

"Sure, Sirius, what would you like to talk about?" She asked pretending that the kiss never happened.

Just then a few other girls came out of the bathroom, Kristie among them, and they all looked at Sirius and Cassi, taking in the small distance between them and the expressions on their face, Sirius half smiling and Cassi smiling brightly, to them her smile was anything but forced.

"Hi Sirius" Kristie said bating her lashes, Cassi rolled her eyes and looked away as Kristie walked over to them.

"Uh, hi Kristie" He obviously didn't want to be mean, but he really did not want to talk to her, he needed to talk to Cassi.

"Did you hear the first Hogsmeade trip is next weekend?" She said still flirting, Sirius glanced at Cassi and then to Kristie. _I am so done with this _Cassi thought.

"Okay, well I'm going to go to lunch, talk to you guys later" Cassi said turning to leave.

"No, wait, Cassi, please can I talk to you?" Sirius asked as Cassi turned back to him. Kristie looked thoroughly affronted that Sirius wanted to talk to Cassi, not her. "Privately, please?"

When Cassi didn't immediately object, Sirius moved closer to her and gestured a little further down the hall, Cassi gave a very small nod.

"See you later." He called over his shoulder to Kristie, who still looked shocked.

"How 'bout in here?" He asked gesturing to the left side, which unfortunately not only had an empty classroom but also a broom cupboard. Seeing Cassi's raised eyebrows, he added, "The classroom"

Cassi walked inside and stood with her arms folded across her stomach. Sirius followed her in and shut the door.

"Cassi, about last night…" He trailed off not really knowing what to say.

"What about it Sirius?" He hated how cold her words were, and even the way she stood, she had blocked him out, crossing her arms was her way of staying _I want nothing to do with you, you hurt me. _

"Cassi, please I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you, I don't know why I did, I'm so sorry." If possible, Cassi got even colder.

"You think sorry is going to fix it? You can't just say sorry and expect everything to go back to normal. Sorry, doesn't change anything. It means nothing."

"I don't know what else to say, Cass. I hate that we aren't hanging out anymore…" Sirius was about to continue, but Cassi rolled her eyes and cut him off.

"Well Sirius, what can I say? For every action there is a reaction..." Cassi looked at her feet shaking her head slowly.

"Was it really that bad of me to kiss you? Was it that awful, that now you're ignoring me?" Sirius asked as Cassi's head shot up.

"It's not about the kiss, Sirius" _Maybe he is stupid. _Cassi thought at the look of surprise and confusion on Sirius' face.

"What d' you mean it's not about the kiss? What's it about then?" Cassi looked at him incredulously _okay; he can not be this stupid. _

Then the bell rang signalling the end of lunch and the beginning of the 15 minute allotted time for travelling to classes.

"Crap, we're going to be late." Cassi said heading toward the door.

"Cassi please we need to-"

"Not now Sirius, we need to get to class, do you have you charms stuff?"

"Yeah, do you?" Cassi nodded and took off down corridor Sirius quickly catching up to her.

"Come on, short cut" Cassi said grabbing Sirius' wrist and pulling him behind a tapestry into a tunnel that she knew cut across the school ending right in front of the Charms classroom on the third floor.

The ended up completely out of breath in the Charms corridor with only 2 minutes left. Cassi walked into the class and took her seat next to a Hufflepuff named Melissa; she had completely forgotten that Sirius sat on her other side in the class.

For the last part of the lesson, Professor Flitwick divided them up into pairs to practice a Cheering Charm.

"Potter and Evans" Lily groaned and rolled her eyes at Cassi who knew that she just did not like James.

"Lupin and Davies"

"Brown and Abbot"

"Stewart and Collins"

"Hall and Smith"

"Pettigrew and Rogers" _Poor Stefanie, she'll be lucky if she walks out of this class. _Cassi thought looking at the girl pityingly.

"Turner and Walker" _Wait that means…_

"Finally, Black and Taylor" _Well, Luck is just not on my side today…or ever really. _

Each group separated into a different area of the room and soon the entire class was filled with laughing and smiling students…well, except where Cassi and Sirius stood, in their area it was quite awkward.

"Right well would you like to have a go first?" Cassi asked hoping that they would just focus on the lesson and not their earlier conversation.

"Cassi don't you think we should finish our talk?"

"I guess I'll go first then"

"Cassi we really need to-" Sirius was cut off as Cassi pointed the charm at him and he burst into laughter.

"So your turn" She said completely ignoring what Sirius had been saying.

"We need to talk about this, before you were saying that it's not about the kiss, so what's it about? Why are you mad?" Sirius said this all with a huge grin plastered on his face from the Charm, so the whole thing seemed like a joke, though it was clear he was not joking.

"I'm sorry but it's hard to take you seriously with that smile." Cassi said grinning at him trying to keep herself from laughing.

"Well I am always Sirius Cassi, after all who else would I be?" He replied with a semi-straight face (only his mouth was smiling but his eyes were dead serious, or should I say, Sirius?) Cassi burst out laughing at this, unable to stifle it anymore. Sirius felt his heart leap inside him at the sound of her laugh, a laugh that he had caused.

"That…wasn't…even…funny" Cassi gasped while she laughed. Sirius smiled at her (well, okay so he already was smiling but this time his eyes smiled too)

"Then why are you laughing?" After a couple moments Cassi calmed herself down, though she was still smiling.

"Because, your face was hilarious! The bottom half was smiling uncontrollably and the top half was dead straight while you said that."

:.:.:

Alice and Lily, who were partnered with Remus and James, stood somewhat closely together, every so often glancing at Cassi and Sirius across the room.

When Cassi randomly burst out laughing the two girls thought Sirius had simply preformed the Charm, but after a second look, they realised that Sirius didn't even have his wand raised. Alice and Lily looked back to each other and Lily walked closer to Alice as they stared at their friend.

"I think they made up, she's actually laughing, like really laughing, not even because of the Charm." Alice whispered to Lily.

"Yeah I know, I just hope he doesn't hurt her again, I swear if he does I'll join Becca in killing him." Lily agreed.

"I think they both really like each other, they just don't know it yet and that's why they freaked last night, well he freaked. They'll be great friends for now though." Alice commented. Remus and James who were having a bit of a side conversation noticed that their partners weren't talking on their own too, and from the looks on their faces, the boys were either really skilled at the Cheering Charm, or they just figured out something.

"You know Alice; I don't even like the bloke and I agree with you. They are going to be like best friends, I think we just got replaced." Lily said and the two girls chuckled softly, "But I have to say, they are going to make an absolutely adorable couple…whenever they get there."

Lily hadn't noticed that James had come up behind her and could hear their conversation.

"Who's going to make an adorable couple?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

"Mind your own business Potter." Lily said spitefully glaring at him, something that seemed to take him by surprise.

"Jeez it was just a question" He said. Lily threw him a dirty look and cast another Cheering Charm at him causing him to smile hugely and burst into laughter.

_Oh, Lily, you two are going to be just as adorable as Sirius and Cassi. _Alice thought rejoining Remus to practice the Charm.

The rest of the class passed uneventfully. Sirius and Cassi were talking and laughing as though nothing had ever happened, James and Lily, though they glared at each other, did not speak to each other for the rest of the lesson, and Alice and Remus got on pretty well, though strictly as friends, neither one thought of the other as anything more. The only person that continued to look spiteful, vindictive and jealous was Kristie Walker, who continuously threw dirty looks at Cassi. Cassi, however, barely registered this.

When the bell rang, Lily and Alice began filling Becca in on what they saw during the lesson. Figuring that they would want tons of details, Cassi decided that she would walk with the boys to History of Magic, she would talk to the girls tonight.

"I thought you were spending the day with the girls, Cass." James said as she joined them in the corridor.

"Am I no longer allowed to hang out with you guys?" Cassi said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"You can always hang out with us." James said putting his arm around her shoulder. They continued walking down the corridor in silence, James' arm still around Cassi's shorter. "Does Evans hate me?" James asked randomly.

"You mean Lily?" Cassi asked looking up at him, when he nodded she bit her lip before continuing. "Yes she does. She thinks you're an arrogant, egotistical, chauvinistic prat."

"What! Why?" James asked angrily unconsciously tightening his grip on Cassi's shoulders.

"Uh, James you mind loosening your grip a bit?"

"Oh, sorry"

"And she hates you because you and Black were quite awful to her friend" At the look on confusion on Sirius and James' faces she continued, "_Snivellus _ring any bells?"

At the mention of the nickname they had given the greasy Slytherin James' frown turned into a massive grin, Sirius mirroring his mate.

"We should prank him, eh James?" Remus immediately rolled his eyes, James smiled and nodded and Cassi frowned shaking her head.

"Absolutely not." All the boys turned to look at her, "No not Sev, find a different Slytherin."

"You can not be serious!" Sirius said looking at her like she was crazy.

"No you are." Sirius smiled and rolled his eyes. "I'm not kidding though, you prank Severus Snape and not only will Lily come after you, but I will help her."

"Are you _friends_ with him?" James asked looking quite disgusted.

"No, I don't know him that well, but he's like Lily's _best _friend, so how bad can he be?" At that point they had reached the classroom, James relinquished his hold on Cassi and the five took their separate seats, Cassi very aware of the confused looks aimed at her back.

**A/N: Sorry if you found the Serious/Sirius puns corny and a bit unbearable, but i once read an authors note that said every Sirius/OC story had to have at least one joke so there it was. Review. **


	23. Introducing the Marauders HELLO ARGUS

On the way to lunch, opportunity struck. Cassi went to girls' restroom, telling her friends that she would meet them in the Great Hall. Sirius, noticing this, lingered while the rest of the boys continued on to lunch. He felt that this would his only chance to talk to her alone, and he wasn't going to talk to her in front of other people.

Cassi walked out of the washroom fixing her hair slightly and was about to follow her friends when she noticed Sirius standing by the wall. _Oh fun. Well I guess I can't avoid him forever. _

"Cassi, can we talk?" He asked moving toward her, Cassi smiled.

"Sure, Sirius, what would you like to talk about?" She asked pretending that the kiss never happened.

Just then a few other girls came out of the bathroom, Kristie among them, and they all looked at Sirius and Cassi, taking in the small distance between them and the expressions on their face, Sirius half smiling and Cassi smiling brightly, to them her smile was anything but forced.

"Hi Sirius" Kristie said bating her lashes, Cassi rolled her eyes and looked away as Kristie walked over to them.

"Uh, hi Kristie" He obviously didn't want to be mean, but he really did not want to talk to her, he needed to talk to Cassi.

"Did you hear the first Hogsmeade trip is next weekend?" She said still flirting, Sirius glanced at Cassi and then to Kristie. _I am so done with this _Cassi thought.

"Okay, well I'm going to go to lunch, talk to you guys later" Cassi said turning to leave.

"No, wait, Cassi, please can I talk to you?" Sirius asked as Cassi turned back to him. Kristie looked thoroughly affronted that Sirius wanted to talk to Cassi, not her. "Privately, please?"

When Cassi didn't immediately object, Sirius moved closer to her and gestured a little further down the hall, Cassi gave a very small nod.

"See you later." He called over his shoulder to Kristie, who still looked shocked.

"How 'bout in here?" He asked gesturing to the left side, which unfortunately not only had an empty classroom but also a broom cupboard. Seeing Cassi's raised eyebrows, he added, "The classroom"

Cassi walked inside and stood with her arms folded across her stomach. Sirius followed her in and shut the door.

"Cassi, about last night…" He trailed off not really knowing what to say.

"What about it Sirius?" He hated how cold her words were, and even the way she stood, she had blocked him out, crossing her arms was her way of staying _I want nothing to do with you, you hurt me. _

"Cassi, please I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you, I don't know why I did, I'm so sorry." If possible, Cassi got even colder.

"You think sorry is going to fix it? You can't just say sorry and expect everything to go back to normal. Sorry, doesn't change anything. It means nothing."

"I don't know what else to say, Cass. I hate that we aren't hanging out anymore…" Sirius was about to continue, but Cassi rolled her eyes and cut him off.

"Well Sirius, what can I say? For every action there is a reaction..." Cassi looked at her feet shaking her head slowly.

"Was it really that bad of me to kiss you? Was it that awful, that now you're ignoring me?" Sirius asked as Cassi's head shot up.

"It's not about the kiss, Sirius" _Maybe he is stupid. _Cassi thought at the look of surprise and confusion on Sirius' face.

"What d' you mean it's not about the kiss? What's it about then?" Cassi looked at him incredulously _okay; he can not be this stupid. _

Then the bell rang signalling the end of lunch and the beginning of the 15 minute allotted time for travelling to classes.

"Crap, we're going to be late." Cassi said heading toward the door.

"Cassi please we need to-"

"Not now Sirius, we need to get to class, do you have you charms stuff?"

"Yeah, do you?" Cassi nodded and took off down corridor Sirius quickly catching up to her.

"Come on, short cut" Cassi said grabbing Sirius' wrist and pulling him behind a tapestry into a tunnel that she knew cut across the school ending right in front of the Charms classroom on the third floor.

The ended up completely out of breath in the Charms corridor with only 2 minutes left. Cassi walked into the class and took her seat next to a Hufflepuff named Melissa; she had completely forgotten that Sirius sat on her other side in the class.

For the last part of the lesson, Professor Flitwick divided them up into pairs to practice a Cheering Charm.

"Potter and Evans" Lily groaned and rolled her eyes at Cassi who knew that she just did not like James.

"Lupin and Davies"

"Brown and Abbot"

"Stewart and Collins"

"Hall and Smith"

"Pettigrew and Rogers" _Poor Stefanie, she'll be lucky if she walks out of this class. _Cassi thought looking at the girl pityingly.

"Turner and Walker" _Wait that means…_

"Finally, Black and Taylor" _Well, Luck is just not on my side today…or ever really. _

Each group separated into a different area of the room and soon the entire class was filled with laughing and smiling students…well, except where Cassi and Sirius stood, in their area it was quite awkward.

"Right well would you like to have a go first?" Cassi asked hoping that they would just focus on the lesson and not their earlier conversation.

"Cassi don't you think we should finish our talk?"

"I guess I'll go first then"

"Cassi we really need to-" Sirius was cut off as Cassi pointed the charm at him and he burst into laughter.

"So your turn" She said completely ignoring what Sirius had been saying.

"We need to talk about this, before you were saying that it's not about the kiss, so what's it about? Why are you mad?" Sirius said this all with a huge grin plastered on his face from the Charm, so the whole thing seemed like a joke, though it was clear he was not joking.

"I'm sorry but it's hard to take you seriously with that smile." Cassi said grinning at him trying to keep herself from laughing.

"Well I am always Sirius Cassi, after all who else would I be?" He replied with a semi-straight face (only his mouth was smiling but his eyes were dead serious, or should I say, Sirius?) Cassi burst out laughing at this, unable to stifle it anymore. Sirius felt his heart leap inside him at the sound of her laugh, a laugh that he had caused.

"That…wasn't…even…funny" Cassi gasped while she laughed. Sirius smiled at her (well, okay so he already was smiling but this time his eyes smiled too)

"Then why are you laughing?" After a couple moments Cassi calmed herself down, though she was still smiling.

"Because, your face was hilarious! The bottom half was smiling uncontrollably and the top half was dead straight while you said that."

:.:.:

Alice and Lily, who were partnered with Remus and James, stood somewhat closely together, every so often glancing at Cassi and Sirius across the room.

When Cassi randomly burst out laughing the two girls thought Sirius had simply preformed the Charm, but after a second look, they realised that Sirius didn't even have his wand raised. Alice and Lily looked back to each other and Lily walked closer to Alice as they stared at their friend.

"I think they made up, she's actually laughing, like really laughing, not even because of the Charm." Alice whispered to Lily.

"Yeah I know, I just hope he doesn't hurt her again, I swear if he does I'll join Becca in killing him." Lily agreed.

"I think they both really like each other, they just don't know it yet and that's why they freaked last night, well he freaked. They'll be great friends for now though." Alice commented. Remus and James who were having a bit of a side conversation noticed that their partners weren't talking on their own too, and from the looks on their faces, the boys were either really skilled at the Cheering Charm, or they just figured out something.

"You know Alice; I don't even like the bloke and I agree with you. They are going to be like best friends, I think we just got replaced." Lily said and the two girls chuckled softly, "But I have to say, they are going to make an absolutely adorable couple…whenever they get there."

Lily hadn't noticed that James had come up behind her and could hear their conversation.

"Who's going to make an adorable couple?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

"Mind your own business Potter." Lily said spitefully glaring at him, something that seemed to take him by surprise.

"Jeez it was just a question" He said. Lily threw him a dirty look and cast another Cheering Charm at him causing him to smile hugely and burst into laughter.

_Oh, Lily, you two are going to be just as adorable as Sirius and Cassi. _Alice thought rejoining Remus to practice the Charm.

The rest of the class passed uneventfully. Sirius and Cassi were talking and laughing as though nothing had ever happened, James and Lily, though they glared at each other, did not speak to each other for the rest of the lesson, and Alice and Remus got on pretty well, though strictly as friends, neither one thought of the other as anything more. The only person that continued to look spiteful, vindictive and jealous was Kristie Walker, who continuously threw dirty looks at Cassi. Cassi, however, barely registered this.

When the bell rang, Lily and Alice began filling Becca in on what they saw during the lesson. Figuring that they would want tons of details, Cassi decided that she would walk with the boys to History of Magic, she would talk to the girls tonight.

"I thought you were spending the day with the girls, Cass." James said as she joined them in the corridor.

"Am I no longer allowed to hang out with you guys?" Cassi said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"You can always hang out with us." James said putting his arm around her shoulder. They continued walking down the corridor in silence, James' arm still around Cassi's shorter. "Does Evans hate me?" James asked randomly.

"You mean Lily?" Cassi asked looking up at him, when he nodded she bit her lip before continuing. "Yes she does. She thinks you're an arrogant, egotistical, chauvinistic prat."

"What! Why?" James asked angrily unconsciously tightening his grip on Cassi's shoulders.

"Uh, James you mind loosening your grip a bit?"

"Oh, sorry"

"And she hates you because you and Black were quite awful to her friend" At the look on confusion on Sirius and James' faces she continued, "_Snivellus _ring any bells?"

At the mention of the nickname they had given the greasy Slytherin James' frown turned into a massive grin, Sirius mirroring his mate.

"We should prank him, eh James?" Remus immediately rolled his eyes, James smiled and nodded and Cassi frowned shaking her head.

"Absolutely not." All the boys turned to look at her, "No not Sev, find a different Slytherin."

"You can not be serious!" Sirius said looking at her like she was crazy.

"No you are." Sirius smiled and rolled his eyes. "I'm not kidding though, you prank Severus Snape and not only will Lily come after you, but I will help her."

"Are you _friends_ with him?" James asked looking quite disgusted.

"No, I don't know him that well, but he's like Lily's _best _friend, so how bad can he be?" At that point they had reached the classroom, James relinquished his hold on Cassi and the five took their separate seats, Cassi very aware of the confused looks aimed at her back.

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully, well, it did until dinner. Severus sat at the Gryffindor Table as he sometimes did, with Lily, Alice, Becca and Cassi, who decided to spend dinner with her girl friends.

Near the end of dinner Sirius and James came over, willing to pretend that Snivels wasn't even there, to ask Cassi if she wanted to go to the Room of Requirement to sort out their prank. Of course, that didn't exactly go as planned.

"Black, Potter, what do you want?" Severus asked rather impolitely, he made it clear that he hated the two Gryffindors that happened to be Cassi's friends, and quite frankly, she didn't like her friends being spoken to that way.

James and Sirius ignored Severus and his tone, looking at Cassi.

"You free tonight?" James asked as Sirius glared at Snape before looking back at Cassi.

"Uh, yeah, I'll talk to you guys later okay?" The girls nodded, Lily looking rather anxious at Severus' reaction.

"Wait, you're friends with _them_?" Severus practically spat the last word out, looking at Cassi with as much disgust and disdain as he so obviously held for Sirius and James. Sirius looked as though he was about to say something, probably ending up with a hex, but Cassi spoke first, her eyes narrowed slightly and her voice was challenging.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?"

"So you're scum just like them, huh?" Snape said with a disgusting sneer at her.

"Don't you dare talk to her like that!" Sirius said absolutely livid, apparently he didn't care that the Slytherin called him scum, only that he had insulted Cassi. Cassi scoffed at him before getting up from the table.

"At least I'm not a slimy, Slytherin git. You might want to try shampoo some time, its soap since you obviously don't know…better yet, just hex yourself into oblivion. If you can't figure it out with your limited brain capacity, let me know, I'd be happy to help...And don't you ever talk to me like that again, _Snivellus, _I can guarantee you'll regret it." With that Cassi turned to Sirius and James who both had smirks on their faces. "Let's go."

Cassi followed James out of the Great Hall, Sirius beside her, and into the Entrance Hall. They had left every one of Cassi's friends looking completely astounded. Lily looked outraged and shocked both at Cassi and Severus, Alice and Becca were just plain surprised, obviously they knew an intense hatred had just been formed, and Severus glared coldly at her.

Cassi didn't feel bad for what she had said. Okay, so maybe it was a little much since she had insulted his appearance, house, intelligence _and _name, but still, he deserved it. Once they made it to the Entrance Hall James stopped walking and both boys turned to face Cassi.

"What?" She asked looking at the two of them.

"Where did that come from?" Sirius asked grinning wildly. Cassi shrugged.

"He deserved it. Bloody Slytherin git." Cassi said staring off into space scowling.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side." James said smiling as they began walking again.

"Yeah, well, he's a jerk." Cassi walked in the middle of the two boys, her friends. "Hey Sirius, did you ever tell them about the Room of Requirement."

"Yeah, but only at dinner I kind of forgot, that's actually why we came to get you, Remus and Peter are already up there."

:.:.:

The rest of the evening was spent preparing for their prank which would be set in motion the following day.

Lily and Severus had fought for what had happened at dinner and Alice and Becca sat awkwardly finishing their dinner. By the time they finished dinner, Lily and Severus had sort of made up and all of them were talking again, conveniently avoiding any topic that included Cassi or the Gryffindor boys.

At 8 o'clock the boys and Cassi returned to the Common Room, their prank all ready for the next day. They decided to get up early and set the whole thing up, then sit back and watch as the rest of the day unfolded. They found an amazing locking charm that required a password to unlock all the spells and would only wear off in 24 hours. Everything was ready; all that was left was to wait for morning and decide on a password.

"We still need a password." Sirius sighed.

"Remus, get out a dictionary and start looking for words." Cassi suggested.

"Why don't you? You guys aren't doing anything." Remus shot back.

"2 reasons, 1: I know for a fact that you have a dictionary, and 2: we are brainstorming phrases." Cassi replied with a smirk as Remus begrudgingly got out a dictionary.

"There's nothing in here that would even remotely sound like a good password." Remus sighed flipping through the pages.

"Well we could use Gryffindor Rules." Peter suggested.

"Too generic, what about Quidditch Rocks or All Slytherins are annoying gits?" Sirius offered, clearly favouring the second option.

"And that's not generic?" Cassi asked.

"Here's a word that could work." Remus said as the rest of the group looked at him. "Marauder: An outlaw, someone who raids and pillages."

"You know I actually like that; the Marauders, Hogwarts' outlaws." Sirius said as the rest of the group nodded.

"We could be the Marauders." James said.

"Yeah, the password could be something like: courtesy of the Marauders, or-you know what I thought of something even better." The boys crowded around Cassi to listen to her idea, before declaring it 'brilliant' and 'perfect', Sirius simply said 'Ace', which the boys took to calling Cassi for the rest of the night, and maybe even longer, who really knows.

:.:.:

The next morning the newly dubbed "Marauders" woke bright and early…well more like Cassi did and then went to wake them up.

"Come on you lazy prats, you've got to get up." Flicking her wand she opened all the curtains around their beds and the blinds over the windows.

"Ughh shut the light Remus." James groaned flipping over onto his stomach to hide his face.

"It's not me! Peter, shut the light!" Cassi rolled her eyes.

"GET UP!" She yelled. James jumped right out of bed wearing nothing but boxers and a tee shirt. "Merlin James put on some clothes!" She said averting her eyes as James grabbed some pants from his trunk.

"Cassi what the hell are you doing in here?" Remus said getting up, _he _was actually wearing pants.

"Uh, hello, prank day, now go get ready. Is Sirius up yet?" She walked over to the bed that still held a sleeping boy as James, Remus and Peter went into the bathroom to change.

"Sirius, Sirius you have to get up." She said shaking him. Sirius didn't even twitch. "Sirius, you've really got to get up!" Once again he didn't move and Cassi shook him more violently. Cassi straightened and pointed her wand at the sleeping boy.

"Aguamenti" A jet of water burst from her wand and Sirius jumped out of bed screaming. Satisfied, Cassi stowed her wand away. It was only then that she looked at his dripping wet form. All he was wearing was a pair of grey and black plaid boxers.

"Are you mad woman?" He shouted at her shaking some of the water off. Cassi wrenched her gaze away from his muscular body.

"You weren't waking up and its prank day." She said awkwardly avoiding his gaze. He grinned cockily at her realising that what he was wearing, or lack thereof, was making her uncomfortable.

"You can look, I know I look amazing." Cassi blushed slightly before meeting his gaze and responding.

"Oh please, get over yourself Black, you're actually quite hideous."

"Oh really, is that why you're blushing?"

"Shut up and go get ready, git." Smirking again Sirius walked over to the bathroom to get changed.

_Merlin, he is gorgeous. Why does he have to be so damn attractive? _Cassi thought as he walked away.

About 15 minutes later the boys were reading to leave, Sirius having fixed his hair and James attempting to make his lie flat before giving up and messing it up even more than before.

"Are you guys ready to go? You take longer than Alice." Remus laughed seeing as the comment was mostly directed toward Sirius and he looked quite outraged, Cassi smirked, _I can embarrass you too, Sirius Black. _

"Let's get this thing started."

The five Gryffindors walked to the Room of Requirement and preformed all the spells they had practiced the night before and took the suit of Armour to Filch's office where they knew he was sleeping.

They crept to the door and opened it a crack, performing the final spell that would make the suit follow Filch for the rest of the day and crept around the corner into a passageway that would take them back to the seventh floor.

Cassi muttered the final spell and the suit sprung to life and walked into the office where Filch had fallen asleep at his desk.

"HEEELLOOO ARGUS!" the suit called in an extremely annoying, loud voice.

"What the-"

"Argus, COOME ONNN its time to GET UUUP!" It said in a sing-song voice.

"Get out of he-" Once again the suit cut him off.

"ARGUSSS COOMMEE ONNN WE HAVE TO GO!"

Unable to contain themselves any longer the five outlaws burst into laughter. Filch came out of his office at the noise and immediately the suit followed, causing another onset of laughter as they turned and ran up the passage.

"THERE YOU GO ARGUS MY FRIEND! LET'S GO! Oh I want to go to the Great Hall, and the Entrance Hall, and Gryffindor Tower, and Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff and Slytherin, oooh and the Astronomy Tower. COOOME OONNN WE HAVE TO GET GOINNG!"

The suit's babbling echoed in the passage around them causing them to laugh even more. When they got to the end of the passage they had tears in their eyes from laughing so much.

"Now that is what I call an impressive prank!" Cassi laughed. After calming down slightly (They were still grinning uncontrollably and laughing randomly every once and a while) they went back into the Common Room.

About 15 minutes later, Lily, Alice and Becca came down the stairs, unfortunately for them; they came down during one the Marauders' uncontrollable laughing fits.

"Cassi, what did you do?"

"Oh hey Lils…and…you'll see…let's go for breakfast." She gasped before gaining composure. "Come on guys, I don't want to miss this."

The boys got up still laughing a bit and walked out of the portrait hole with Cassi, the other girls followed behind warily.

"This can't be good." Alice muttered to the others.

As they neared the Great Hall, the yelling of the suit could be heard, sending the Marauders into another fit of laughter.

"COOOME ONN ARGUUSS!" It whined. "LET"S GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! SOMEWHERE LESS SLYTHERIN INFESTED, UGH I DON'T LIKE THEM MUCH, TOO SLIMY FOR MY LIKING! OH HELLO PROFESSORS! ARGUUSS AREN'T YOU GOING TO INTRODUCE ME? I'D REALLY LIKE TO BE INTRODUCED I'VE NEVER MET ANY OF THESE PROFESSORS BEFORE!"

As the Gryffindors rounded the corner walking into the Great Hall, they saw that every student was either laughing or staring in shock and amusement. Filch and the suit were standing by the Professors' table, McGonagall looked completely confused as did most of the professors, though some of them looked like they were trying to keep themselves from laughing.

"OOH THERE'S PANCAKES AND WAFFLES! I REALLY WANT SOME WAFFLES CAN WE GET SOME! ARRGUUSS! OH HEY LOOK THERE'S SOME GREASEY LOOKING SLYTHERIN, I THINK HE SHOULD WASH HIS HAIR. OH AND THERE'S CEREAL TOO. AND ORANGE JUICE AND PUMPKIN JUICE AND…" The suit continued to blather and Filch tried to move away from it, but for every step Filch took the suit took one too.

"Mister Filch what in Merlin's name is going on?" McGonagall asked over top of the suit's talking.

"Wait, you guys did _this_?" Lily asked a still laughing Cassi who was leaning on Sirius for support. After a couple seconds they calmed down and wiped the tears from their eyes grinning wildly as more and more students came into the hall and laughed at their brilliant prank.

Filch looked around the hall for the culprits, his eyes landing on the group of Gryffindors still standing in the Entrance grinning proudly at the suit.

"Them, they did it." Filch said pointing at them.

"Who? Us?" Sirius said feinting shock.

"HEY I THINK SOMEONE'S OUT THERE PRACTICING QUIDDITCH! I WANT TO TRY! I'VE NEVER RIDDEN A BROOM BEFORE! OOH DANISHES! I REALLY LIKE DANISHES, AT LEAST I THINK I WOULD BUT I HAVEN'T TRIED ONE! I WANT TO TRY ONE."

Professor Dumbledore walked into the Great Hall then, immediately sobering up Cassi and the other Marauders.

"Well what is going on here?" He said smiling with a twinkle in his eyes as he looked at the unknown Marauders. McGonagall had taken to trying to break the locking spell on the suit of Armour along with Professors Flitwick and Sullivan. Lily and the others had separated themselves from the other group so they weren't mistaken for the culprits.

Dumbledore continued up to the staff table and McGonagall called over to the Gryffindors.

"Potter, Black, Lupin, Pettigrew and Taylor get over here this instant." Immediately the whole Hall fell silent.

"Yes Professor?" Cassi asked as they approached the table.

"What on earth did you five do?"

"Nothing much, just practicing a couple spells and charms and whatnot." James said shrugging.

"Professor McGonagall these charms aren't working, I think they used a password locking charm, but I don't know what the password is." Professor Flitwick reported.

"What's the password?" When none of them answered McGonagall continued, "How many detentions do you want? How many house points do you want me to take away for this?"

"Now, now Minerva this is quite an exceptional display of our first years' talent, I daresay we should award points." Dumbledore said after returning from a conversation with the suit.

"But Professor-" Dumbledore cut her off, turning to the Gryffindors, the entire hall still watching.

"I understand that the suit of armour will follow Mr Filch around everywhere?"

"Yes Professor, it will also talk continuously until the spell wears off or the counter-spell is said." Cassi explained.

"There's also a Password locking spell on it, as Professor Flitwick said." Sirius added.

"And you five did all this yourselves then?"

"Yes Sir" James answered and Dumbledore smiled widely at them, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Well I must say I'm impressed. 20 points to Gryffindor for each of you, for creative excellence and a quite amusing morning. Now, if you would be so kind to say the password and the counter-curses?"

"Of course, sir" Remus said as Cassi stepped forward wand raised.

"Introducing the Marauders" She said and a jet of yellow light shot from her wand, rushing around the suit of armour.

"Interesting password, the Marauders…it has a certain ring to it, doesn't it Minerva?" McGonagall shook her head disbelieving.

"Why thank you Professor." Sirius said. Then Sirius, Cassi, James and Remus took turns saying the counter-curses and spells until all that was left was a simple, un-enchanted suit of armour.

Dumbledore smiled and nodded at the five Gryffindors once more, before turning to the rest of the Great Hall who had begun chatting, whispers of '_the Marauders' _circulated along with impressed and amused looks.

"Carry on ladies and gentlemen." As the talk in the hall gradually picked back up again, Dumbledore turned back to McGonagall. "A half hour detention if you see fit, Minerva. Now if you'll excuse me Miss Taylor, Misters Black, Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew I must be on my way."

After he left, they looked at McGonagall knowing she would give them a detention.

"7:30 tonight in the trophy room." She said simply. Shrugging the Marauders walked over to Gryffindor Table where the older students cheered and clapped them, soon Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were clapping as well.

The Marauders took a couple bows before sitting down to a delicious breakfast of waffles and pancakes. That detention was so worth it.

**A/N: Review for another chapter 8) also COPY THIS BUNNY TO YOUR PROFILE TO HELP HIM GAIN WORLD DOMINATION  
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	24. Not So Different

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! They really make my days so please continue to review. Back to the story. **

**Chapter 24: Not so Different**

The next week passed rather uneventfully. The Marauders pulled more pranks, mostly on Slytherins, and got quite a few detentions. To say the least, they weren't McGonagall's favourite Gryffindors…although, their popularity skyrocketed.

James and Sirius were Hogwarts' most eligible bachelors. Everywhere they went girls swooned at the sight of them, bating their lashes and smiling. The ones that were more outgoing said hello, and Cassi couldn't help but roll her eyes at them. Those girls treated them like they were gods on earth. Even Remus had a smaller group of girls (mostly Ravenclaws) that fancied him.

Peter seemed to be the exception, though a couple girls smiled at him in the halls.

One particularly warm Saturday, the Marauders, minus Remus, were heading out to the grounds when they passed a bunch of giggling and smiling girls.

"Hey Sirius" "Hi James" A couple of the girls said as they passed. Sirius and James winked at them, each giving the girls their trademark smiles; James' was a lopsided grin and Sirius' was more of an adorable smirk. When they were out of earshot Cassi looked back at them with disgust.

"Honestly, how could those girls be so pathetic?"

"I wouldn't say they're pathetic" Sirius said.

"That's because you take advantage of it, plus you love the attention"

"You're just jealous." Sirius said feinting arrogance, though it was really just a slightly exaggerated version of his normal self.

"Yeah right, I wouldn't want a bunch of mindless gits following me around. Really it's quite creepy _Siri-kins_." Cassi said using the nickname some his more…_outgoing_ fan club members had given him. Sirius' eyes narrowed at the use of the annoying name and Cassi sprinted out the front entrance of the school out onto the grounds.

"Bye SIRI-KINS" Cassi shouted while laughing.

"Oh you're going to regret that, Taylor." Sirius said running after her, wand raised. The other boys burst into laughter.

"SIRI-KINS" Cassi teased in a sing-song voice from the grounds. They heard Sirius shout some sort of hex at her and Cassi screamed. "Siri-kins you almost hit me tsk, tsk"

_She just doesn't give up_ James thought.

"Yeah…we should probably stop them from killing each other." James said to Peter as they heard another shouted spell.

When they got onto the grounds Cassi was running around ducking behind trees and various people trying to dodge Sirius' spells, but she never stopped taunting him. Most of the students that Cassi ducked behind ended up needing the hospital wing.

"Siri-kins you really should stop that, you might hurt someone. You wouldn't want that now would you Siri-kins?" She taunted as she did a Muggle army roll to dodge a bat-bogey hex, which was successful.

_You have to give her points for not giving up…plus she has some pretty awesome moves. _James thought as Cassi sprung up from her roll and resumed running as though she had never somersaulted.

There was quite the crowd starting to form watching, some of them being hexed in the process, as Cassi wove through them, diving and somersaulting. Eventually they got to the edge of the black lake. Cassi slid to a stop as Sirius jogged up to her smirking.

"No where to go now" He said brandishing his wand threateningly.

"Depends on how you look at it" Cassi replied with a matching smirk as Sirius narrowed his eyes slightly. Cassi glanced at the lake and moved closer as though she was about to jump in. Sirius lowered his wand and smiled.

"Cass, the lake's cold. Just stop calling me _that_ and no one needs to jump in." Sirius said stowing his wand away. Cassi smiled at him and sighed.

"_Fine_ I'll stop." Sirius smiled too and pulled Cassi away from the lake placing his arm around her shoulders as they walked back toward the school. Their audience went back to whatever it was they were doing before the little commotion.

They walked over to where James and Peter stood watching, massive smiles on their faces as the other members of the Marauders joined them, of course they were still missing Remus.

"Hey has anyone seen Remmie today?" Cassi asked as they walked toward _their_ tree.

"Yeah he said he was going to the library to work on his essay when we got up this morning, I think Evans was joining him or something." Sirius said shrugging.

"I should probably do mine. I've got to send a letter too." Cassi said frowning slightly as she realised what time of the month it was (and no, she wasn't thinking about _her _time of the month, but a different one). "Right, well, guys I'll see you later." She said hopping up.

"Aw, Cass, you're no fun." Sirius said pouting; in response Cassi stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well I've got things to do so I'll see you later. And you really should do your essays too, that way we're all done for tomorrow."

"Ah get out of here Cassi; you're killing us with your talk of homework!" James said as he pantomimed a dramatic death.

"Oh that's good James; you should show Lily that, she'd love it." Cassi said nodding to reassure him. James sprung up from his fake death with a grin.

"Really?"

"Only if you really died, James. I can't believe you bought that. But I always knew you fancied Lils" Cassi said smirking smugly.

"I do not fancy Evans!" James said haughtily.

"Sure you don't. You know James, considering that like any girl in this school, minus myself, Lily, Alice and Becca, would go out with you, why do you want Lily?"

"Who says I want Lily?" James said a little too defensively.

"You will eventually, if you don't believe me just ask Alice." Cassi said as she turned away from the other very confused Marauders.

:.:.:

After running back quickly to her dorm to get some parchment, a quill and ink, Cassi headed to the Owlery with her shoulder bag. She had contemplated writing her letter in her dorm room, but decided against it. It wouldn't be so easy to explain away if her dorm mates walked in on her tearing up or something.

So instead Cassi walked down to the Owlery, thinking about what she would say in her letter. It was only 2 days to the full moon. _It must be so hard for them. He would have been showing symptoms already. _Cassi thought as she pushed open the door to the draftee loft.

As she stepped in she noticed a figure leaning over a bench writing a letter.

"Remus?" She said hesitantly fairly sure that it was her friend in the Owlery.

"Oh, hey Cassi." Remus said turning to face her. He looked ill, weak and tired. Remus looked like he was dead on his feet, well close to it, and Cassi wondered why he wasn't in the hospital wing when he so clearly ought to be.

"Remus are you feeling alright, you look sick."

"Oh yeah I'm fine."

"Sending a letter home?"

"Yeah I'm going to visit tomorrow, my mom's really sick" He said not meeting her eyes. _Remus you're such a bad liar…but why would he lie about something like that. _

"Oh…um, sorry." Remus nodded slightly, still not meeting her gaze fully. "Have you finished your History of Magic Essay yet?" She asked as her owl, Pandora, flew over to her.

"No I was just going to get started after I sent a letter"

"Same." Both went back to their not-so-different letters, though they both thought that the other would probably never understand, and that they would never write a letter like that.

Remus' letter read:

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_I just told my first lie of the school year to a friend who asked if I felt alright. I told her I was fine and that I was going to visit my 'sick' mom (sorry 'bout that, only thing I could think of that would provide an excuse for monthly visits). I think she believed but I'm not sure. Sometimes I think she knows everything…_

_Anyway, the full moon's in two days as you know and I'm not sure how bad this transformation will be. Dumbledore said it might be bad since it's in a new place. I'm not sure when I will be able to write again since I'll be in the hospital wing. But I'll write as soon as possible. _

_I hope you guys are doing alright. I've got to go finish (and start) a History of Magic Essay._

_Your Son, _

_Remus _

Cassi's letter, though she was writing for a somewhat different reason the topic was the same, the up coming full moon.

_**Dear Mitch (and everyone else who will inevitably read this letter),**_

_**I miss you a lot. It's been so different without you here and I hope you're alright back there with all the adults and Eva (is she still annoying you? {Eva if you see this, I love you too}). I hope you're feeling alright what with the moon so close.**_

_**Even though it's been three years, the full moon always makes me feel different. Reflective, I guess…but kind of sad too. I miss him as I'm sure you all do too. I can't help but wonder what it would be like if he had come to Hogwarts, if he was in 4**__**th**__** year and I was in first…I guess it really isn't good to wonder things like that. Nothing good can come from 'what ifs'. All I wanted to say is that my thoughts are with you at this time… **_

_**I've got an essay to go write, which really sucks and I don't want to do it [Mom don't worry I'm still going to do it] but I've made a bunch of new friends which I hope you meet sometime soon. They're all really nice. And please none of you blame them for the detentions, a few of them were only me, and others I kind of started-PLEASE DO NOT SEND A HOWLER!- but detentions really don't matter right now. **_

_**I've got to get going (homework calls…). Please write back ASAP (I was talking to Mitch there but everyone else can send one too, just space it out a bit, I don't need like 1000 letters coming on one morning!). **_

_**Anyways, have a good full moon. **_

_**Love always,**_

_**Cassi **_

Cassi and Remus sealed their letters and attached them to the owls that would take them. Cassi willed herself not to look as forlorn as the full moon often made her since the death of her eldest cousin. She forced herself to put the memories behind her and focus on her friend.

_Remus does look really sick…kind of like Adam used to. _As soon as the thought came unbidden to her mind, Cassi's head shot up and she looked at Remus almost critically, analysing the possibility her mind just threw at her.

The intensity that Cassi looked at him with almost scared Remus. _Oh no, did I tip her off? But how? I haven't even had a single transformation yet, there's no way she could know. _

Cassi mentally shook herself. She was only thinking that because she was thinking about Adam and now she was projecting him on her friend.

"Well ready to go?"

The day was spent working on the Essay in the library with the girls and Remus. Lily, Alice and Becca had commented on Remus' apparent sickness but dropped it after Remus said he was alright, deciding not to argue. Cassi noticed strange similarities between Remus and her late-cousin's condition, but wrote them off as her simply remembering Adam.

By dinner, they had all finished their essays and editing, save for the three procrastinating Marauders. Remus had also grown even sicklier over the course of the day and he disappeared during dinner.

After a few comments, Sirius and James wrote off Remus' disappearance as "finally finding a snog-able fan club member" as Sirius had so delicately put it (note the sarcasm), but Cassi wasn't convinced. For one she knew Remus wasn't like that, and for another, Cassi still had those strange thoughts that compared him to the 'condition'.

**A/N: Please let me know what you think. Review. **


	25. You're Not Worthless

**Chapter 25: You're not Worthless**

The next morning Remus left early in the morning, not bothering to wake his dorm mates and friends, simply leaving, though he wasn't really going as far as anyone thought. He had told everyone last night (everyone being James, Sirius, Peter and Cassi) that he was going home to visit his mother who was ill, really he was going to a secret hospital room located in the Hospital Wing. This room was reserved for him when he had his transformations, 1 day before the moon and 1 day after. He spent his actual transformation in the Shrieking Shack that was connected to Hogwarts by a secret passage under the incredibly vicious Whomping Willow.

Remus was dreading this transformation more than any of the others, save for his first one after he had been bit. He was in a new place, with new friends that the wolf brain had never thought about before; this was bound to be one of the worst he ever had. He had to lie to his new, unsuspecting friends, Remus wasn't even sure if you could count them as friends since their friendship was based on a lack of communication, particularly about the fact that he, Remus, was a werewolf. He was horrible monster, a fiend, he didn't deserve friendship, he didn't deserve the chance to come to Hogwarts considering what he was.

But he was here. He was at Hogwarts and he had friends, even if they didn't know about him, they could still be friends the other 353 days a year, they didn't have to know what went on those 12 days. Remus was at Hogwarts, he had friends, and he deserved it. After all the crap he'd been through, all the crap he _goes _through…he deserves friends. He deserves to be care free and to be a regular teenager.

Remus' mind was always filled with conflicting opinions of himself at the full moon. Part of him though he was a horrendous monster and part of him thought that he wasn't really that bad, he was still human, even if it was only a part of him.

Now he walked to Dumbledore's office for their meeting before he would go to the room that only he and the professors knew about. This was bound to be a long day.

While Remus wrestled with his inner demons, the girls and Marauders were busy getting ready for their day of school. Once they were at breakfast, Cassi met up with her fellow Marauders.

"Has Remus left already?"

"Yeah, before we even got up, he didn't wake us." James answered shovelling food into his mouth.

"James, you eat like a troll."

"I...ru...Roh" He answered still chewing.

"You know the scariest part about that is that I actually understood what you said, and yes you do." James rolled his eyes and continued to eat crazily, Sirius wasn't too much better either, in fact it was kind of strange how they somewhat mirrored each others movements.

The rest of the day dragged on, classes blurring into one another as homework was piled on. Unfortunately, the Marauders, minus Remus had a detention that night. It was at 7 and didn't require anything too laborious; they simply had to polish the trophies, which didn't take too long when it was divided by four people.

By 8:00 all the trophies, were polished and the four friends made their way back to Gryffindor Tower.

"I swear those trophies are only there as a punishment." James said as they climbed up the long staircase.

"I know how many trophies does one school need? Does anyone even know how many there are?"

"643." Cassi answered without hesitation.

"You counted?" Sirius asked looking at her like she was mad.

"No, I didn't, not all of them. I usually do around 129, and assuming everyone does the same amount, which I'm pretty sure you guys do, then that would be 129 multiplied by 5 of us for a total of 643. Though tonight there was only four of us so we did a few more each." James and Sirius stared at Cassi in shock, open-mouthed. "What? I'm good at math."

"You could say that." James said shaking his head.

"I'm pretty sure that room is just used for punishments too. Did you know there's a trophy for the Bloody Baron for being the bloodiest Hogwarts ghost?"

"Yeah well I found one for Peeves being the biggest trouble maker, 1990 to present." Sirius said shaking his head.

"I say we take that trophy. I purpose that we, the Marauders (Remus included); set a goal to have that trophy by the time we graduate. All in favour say 'ay'" Cassi said sounding like a member of parliament purposing a bill.

"Ay" The boys responded, even Pete, who rarely says anything, joined in the chorus.

:.:.:

The next day passed much in the same fashion, though for once they didn't have any outstanding detentions and they didn't receive any new ones. The Marauders had the night free.

So how did they spend it? Playing Exploding Snap and nearly causing the entire Common to catch fire. Well, really it was only Sirius and James who did that. Peter sat watching them and Cassi sat in one of the many window seats looking out at the sky quietly.

She had meant to read a book, but as soon as she sat down the light of the full moon glistened on the page calling her attention to the grounds. They looked eerie tonight with the large round moon illuminating the glassy lake. The trees cast creepy shadows every where and the blowing wind caused them to dance about the fall grass. The sight should have been unsettling and it was a little. But Cassi couldn't help but admire the beauty of it all. Everything just looked…surreal, like a still frame captured by the most skilled artist. Nothing was positioned or poised, but that's what made it beautiful. The entire night was disconcerted; it left a feeling of anxiousness and worry running down Cassi's spine. Something told her that this was not just a regular night, not just a regular full moon…and that's when she heard it.

Far in the distance, very faint, was a howl, sounding out to the moon. It would not have been heard by the other students who were busy with themselves, but to Cassi, who was just sitting there thinking about the grounds, the howl was clear. One would think that she would have been scared of it, a menacing howl filling her ears, but it wasn't. The howl was familiar. Only once did it grace her ears, floating over on the unnerving wind, but it stuck with Cassi, echoing slightly in her mind as she thought to the howls she had heard growing up.

Instantly Cassi thought of her cousin, Adam, the one who was no longer with them. She had only just started to think of him, think of the night and what it meant, when Lily walked over to her, shaking Cassi from her reverie.

"We're going up now, you coming? I think the boys are too, well, I think they actually were sent to their rooms, so…" Cassi nodded her agreement and stood, following her friend up the narrow staircase to their dormitory.

:.:.:

The night past somewhat restlessly for Cassi, though she slept, she didn't fully relax. Something was bothering her, but she didn't know what it was. She hadn't heard any more howls and didn't think about her cousin, but still…something was off.

Cassi was up at 5 that morning. She just couldn't sleep, so she got dressed in jeans and a warm sweatshirt and walked down the stairs to the Common Room. The fires that had been burning last night were extinguished and the entire tower was still asleep. Everything was dark and quiet. Eventually, Cassi found her way over to the Portrait hole.

She walked silently over to the Entrance Hall and down to the grounds breathing in the crisp fall air. It was roughly 5:30 and the first rays of light were only beginning to show now. Cassi walked along the lake side, the surreal sensation of the grounds still there from last night. Everything was very silent and Cassi did her best not to disturb it.

Cassi was walking along the dewy grass taking in her surroundings as an early morning breeze blew past her. The Whomping Willow was in front of her, though she wasn't quite at its base, and it was still. It was uncharacteristically still.

Then a figure, a familiar figure at that, emerged from the roots of the tree. Clearly this person was injured, they limped slowly and what must have been painfully toward the castle, weaving slightly from side to side.

_It's Remus. _The thought came to Cassi's mind as she rushed over to the figure she had just identified as her friend. She didn't think about the fact that Remus was supposed to be miles away visiting his sick mother, or the fact that he just came out of the roots of a vicious tree. All Cassi cared about was getting to him and making sure he was alright.

Cassi ran up and stopped in front of the swaying and badly injured Remus. She grasped his forearm firmly with her hand to help steady him, then without a word moved so that she was beside him, his arm around her shoulder. One of her hands held Remus', the one she had draped over her shoulder, and the other was around his waist. Slowly they began walking toward the Castle, Cassi trying to keep Remus steady and upright.

"Remus, you're alright, just a little bit further." She said encouragingly.

This situation wasn't all too strange for her. Cassi had helped her older cousin walk back to the house after one of his transformations-

_Oh my Godric, Remus is a werewolf. The poor guy, going through all of this alone… _

Just then Madame Pomfrey appeared at the entrance to Hogwarts. Cassi and Remus weren't too far away from it now, only 10 feet or so. As soon as she saw the limping figure, Madame Pomfrey knew it was Remus, but what stunned her was the other figure supporting Remus'. She hadn't been aware that anyone else was going to help Remus to the castle, and besides, the figure looked to be a student.

_Oh no, how are we going to explain this. _She thought as she hurried over to where Remus and the mystery person were walking. _This is going to be interesting. It seems that this was a bad one- _The matron's thoughts stopped short as she saw the state Remus was in. She was closer to them now, and could easily make out the faces and details of the two students.

Remus had scratches and cuts all over him. His entire body was mangled and he could barely keep himself upright, depending more and more on the person beside him who was talking to him soothingly. Remus' face was no exception to the cuts and blood that covered his body, his left arm was torn open and bleeding freely, and the hand over the person's shoulder had a gash in it.

Madam Pomfrey's breath caught in her throat and she felt tears welling in her eyes at the sight of the young student in front of her. That was when she remembered the other student. Her eyes flashed to the person's face seeing that it was a girl who looked to be Remus' age. She didn't seem too bothered by the blood that was dripping onto her sweater, but it clearly pained her to see a boy she obviously knew go through so much, Madam Pomfrey could only guess that this girl had no idea what Remus went through, what he was going through, yet she remained calm as she guided him to the castle.

"Please help me," The girl said as she came closer to Madam Pomfrey.

"Yes of course, we need to get him to the hospital wing." Madam Pomfrey said as she took Remus' other side.

All the way up to the wing, the young girl never stopped talking quietly to Remus, speaking softly and soothingly. When they reached the wing, Madam Pomfrey led them over to Remus' special room, not caring at the moment that this other student wasn't supposed to know it existed. Remus had fallen unconscious on the walk up and the girl became quiet.

They laid him on the bed that was set up and the girl stood by Remus' bed holding his limp hand as Madam Pomfrey rushed to get the potions that would take away the pain.

"Is there anything I can do?" She asked. Madam Pomfrey looked somewhat flustered; she had to give him potions and heal his wounds and get more potions and the chocolate. Cassi, of course, knew all this since she had gone through it with her cousin, and so she offered to help.

Madam Pomfrey handed her a rack of different coloured potions and Cassi let go of Remus' hand and set it on the bedside table.

"Give these to him" Pomfrey said as she went to a cabinet to get more supplies, she was about to continue with the order that they needed to be given in when she turned around to see the girl pouring the potions down Remus' throat.

She had started with the bright blue one before moving on to the dark green one, Pomfrey looked quite surprised since that was the order the potions were supposed to be given in and the rack that had held them all had not been in order. The girl continued by giving Remus the dark pink potion and finally the dark blue one, then she looked up at Madam Pomfrey and it seemed as though the girl was wondering where the bandages and ointment was.

Pomfrey returned to her work, setting down the bandages and ointment on a table at the foot of the bed and as she began dressing Remus' wounds the girl cleansed the minor ones with the ointment and bandaged them. It seemed as though this girl, whoever she was, knew what she was doing.

When they had finished bandaging Remus, Madam Pomfrey turned to the girl who was watching Remus with concern.

"And who might you be?" She asked not knowing how else to start. The girl seemed to remember that the Matron didn't know who she was and turned to her with a small smile.

"Cassidy Taylor, Madam."

"And why were you outside so early in the morning?" Madam Pomfrey, though she did not question students, she had often seen McGonagall do it, and so employed the same tactics.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk and then I saw Remus and here we are." She explained glancing at the unconscious boy. Madam Pomfrey frowned; she didn't know what else to say without mentioning Remus' condition.

"I'm going to have to ask you to wait in my office, I need to fetch McGonagall."

Cassi nodded understanding that Pomfrey didn't want to leave her alone with Remus in case he woke up in which case he would feel the need to explain, and so went without fuss to the Matron's office. Though as soon as she sat down she heard the door to the Hospital Wing swing open. Looking up, Cassi saw that Professor McGonagall had walked into the wing, evidently to check up on Remus. Madam Pomfrey walked hurriedly out of her office and began to explain exactly what had happened to her. McGonagall's face went from disbelief, to shock and finally staying worried.

From the room leading off Madam Pomfrey's office Cassi heard Remus groan and shift slightly in his bed causing a sharp intake of breath when he did. Cassi was torn, did she go and see him or wait. If she went to see him he might be upset that she knew, but right now he was in pain and could really use some chocolate. Cassi decided that she would go remind the sidetracked women about their first concern, the werewolf in the next room.

She walked up to McGonagall, her sweatshirt splotched with Remus' blood.

"Um, professor, Remus is awake and he could really use some chocolate, I'd go myself but that might cause a bit of an issue." She said after a moment where the two women just stared at Cassi, Madam Pomfrey nodded and headed into Remus' room.

Telling Cassi to stay in the office, McGonagall joined Madam Pomfrey in Remus' room.

"Mr Lupin I'm afraid there's something we need to tell you about, there was a bit of a…complication last night." McGonagall began as Remus ate the chocolate Madam Pomfrey gave him, he looked up at her slightly worried, actually he was terrified that he had gotten out of the Shrieking Shack and had hurt someone.

"A-a complication?" He stuttered.

"Yes, it seems that as you were making your way back to the castle to meet Madam Pomfrey, one of your friends, who was outside for Merlin-knows-why, saw you and helped you into the castle." Remus' eyes bulged and he chocked on the chocolate he was trying to swallow.

"WH-what? WH-who wa-was it?" Remus said between coughs.

"Cassidy Taylor." Remus' face which had been a mixture of surprise and worry changed to an extreme sadness.

"So she knows?" He asked swallowing visibly.

"That's what we aren't sure about. When Madam Pomfrey was giving you your potions, Miss Taylor offered to help. When she was allowed, she knew instantly the order that the potions had to be given in and how to treat your wounds. We haven't mentioned anything about your…condition, and Madam Pomfrey didn't before but it seems that she knows. Now it is up to you Mr Lupin whether you tell her or pretend it was something else." McGonagall finished.

_Great, now I have to guess whether she'll freak and tell the whole school if I tell her or whether she'll go along with an 'I fell out of a tree' story. _Remus thought bitterly.

"For what its worth, Remus she didn't seem to be at all…disturbed by the possibility, but we are still only assuming that she knows at all." Madam Pomfrey added. "She seemed concerned about you; I think you should talk to her."

Remus nodded still not sure what he was going to tell her when she came in, but she deserved to hear some sort of explanation. McGonagall and Pomfrey left the room, and a few seconds later Cassi came in worry and relief all over her face.

She rushed over to his bed and gave him a small smile before giving him a hug, careful not to hurt him. Remus hugged her back hesitantly; this was going to be interesting. When she let go of him and sat on the edge of his bed gently, Remus sighed and looked away from her.

Meeting her eyes again, he decided to tell her the truth.

"Cassi, I haven't been totally honest with you-" He started but Cassi cut him off.

"Remus it's alright, I know…I know that you have lycanthropy." She said staring at him with a small smile on her face. Remus looked away, tears springing to his eyes as he realised she would not want to be his friend anymore.

"I-I understand if you no longer want to talk to me, but please could you maybe not tell anyone?" He asked still looking down at his fidgeting hands. Cassi put one of her hands over his.

"Remus, I'm not going to stop being friends with you because you happen to have a very rare condition." She said he looked up at her quite honestly confused.

"But I'm a monster, Cassi, a monster that wants to kill people. I'm a werewolf Cassi!" He said trying to make sure she understood just exactly who he was.

"Remus Lupin, don't ever let me hear you say that again! Do you understand me? You are not a monster." She said fiercely. "You are one of my best friends, you are not a monster, understand? You are a werewolf but only for 12 days a year. For the other 353 days you are Remus Lupin, you are kind and smart and loyal and a damn good prankster. You're my friend and like hell you'll get out of that so easily." She said smiling at him. "Do I need to keep complementing you or do you realise that you're not a monster and therefore still my friend?"

Remus couldn't help but smile at Cassi.

"Yo-you really still want to be my friend?" He asked feeling as though this was too good to be true.

"Of course" She answered hugging him again. When they pulled back Remus remembered a question that had been nagging his mind.

"How did you know? I mean I didn't even last 1 transformation without someone finding out, how is this going to work?" He said voicing his concerns.

"I don't think you need to worry about other people finding out. You see, lycanthropy becomes quite easy to see in other people when it's happened in your own family." She said quietly, Remus' expression fell to one of sympathy, but before he could say anything she continued.

"It was my cousin, Adam. I miss him a lot; I mean it's been 3 years but still." At Remus' confused look Cassi continued, looking down at her hands. "He was 14 when he died. The healers had told us he would most likely die young since most werewolves drive themselves mad by middle age, but we didn't think it would be that young.

"He was bitten when he was 7; I was four and didn't really know what had happened. Everyone was crying all the time and he was in the hospital, he was my best friend, you know. I made them tell me eventually, I kept asking, bugging them and reading any book in the house I could find, even if I didn't understand half of it. A couple months later I had figured it out. One night at dinner, when it was just me and my parents, I asked them why everyone is so said that Adam's a werewolf. I thought it was sad of course that he had to go through the painful transformations, but I didn't see why everyone was so worried, he was still Adam.

"He was good for a little while. But then he got his Hogwarts letter, Dumbledore would still let him come to Hogwarts, we were all thrilled, but Adam…he fell into a deep depression. He wouldn't come out of his room and when he did he was miserable. He thought of himself as a monster. As an unworthy, good for nothing monster. That month, at the full moon, when the wolf brain took over…he had practically torn himself limb from limb. He was full of scratches and deep gashes, more than the usual. As soon as I saw him-it was my job to help him into the house after a transformation, I liked feeling that I could help him. But when I saw him…I knew that it was different, I knew that it was the end."

Tears were rolling down Cassi's cheeks as she retold the night of her cousin's death. She had been the one to find him, to help him; she was the first to know that he was going to die. Wiping away some of the tears that were still running down her face, Cassi continued the story.

"There was so much blood, Remus; it was just spilling out of him. I tried to get him to the house, but he was too heavy, so instead I shouted for someone to help me and I laid him down using my clothing and what was left of his to try to stop the blood.

"But it just kept coming. Finally someone got up and called St Mungo's. When the healers got there they set to work and managed to get him to the hospital. But his injuries were too intense, far too severe for them to be treated. The healers tried their hardest, a whole team of them were working on him…but in the end…he died at 6:00 in the morning, July 18, three years ago. He was only fourteen.

"After he had died I went back to the place he used for transformations. It was destroyed as was to be expected but etched in the wood were his final thoughts: _I'm worthless. I am a monster. I am a horrible monster. _

"He gave in Remus; he gave into his wolf brain. And you know the worst part is I could have stopped it. If I had just made him see that he wasn't worthless, that he was my best friend…I should have known how he was feeling. I should have showed him what he could do, but I didn't and now he's dead." She finished her story with tears pouring down her face and she buried her head in her hands. Remus wrapped his arms around her.

"Cassi, it's not your fault. There's nothing you could have done different, you couldn't have known. The transformations, they reduce a person's spirit, and it's hard. I know it's going to sound bad, but your cousin didn't fight, he didn't realise what he was worth, and no one could have made him realise it, he gave into the wolf. It's a struggle that every one of us has to face, and in the end it's the individual's choice. It's not your fault." Cassi nodded into his shoulder and after a couple moments pulled away wiping her tears with the sleeve of her blood spattered sweatshirt.

"Thank you Remus, but you have to promise me something."

"Anything" He answered.

"You have to promise me that you will never forget one thing. You're not worthless Remus, and you're not a monster. When-when you struggle, please remember that you're not worthless." She said smiling at him.

"I promise, Cassi, I will remember that. But you have to promise me that you won't blame yourself for things you have no control over." He said.

"Deal" The two shook hands sealing their promise. It was not binding in terms of magically and it wasn't written down anywhere, but that hand shake and the looks in each of their eyes bound them both to a promise and they grew a thousand times closer in that moment.

**A/N: So what do you think? Please let me know! Review. **


	26. Passing Fancies

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and especially those that review repeatedly! It means the world to me. So as a reward here's the next chapter.**

**Chapter 26: Passing Fancies**

Cassi didn't say anything to anyone about Remus being a werewolf, she didn't mention her walk outside in the early morning and she got rid of her sweater that was stained with Remus' blood. As far as anyone was concerned, Cassidy had simply got up early and sat in the common room and Remus was at home visiting his mother.

Once he was released from the hospital wing, things were different between Remus and Cassi. It wasn't a bad different, actually it was good. There was a certain understanding between them, they were united by tragedy and pain, and that connection didn't go unnoticed by the others.

Sirius felt an odd jealousy towards his friend. Never had Sirius though he would ever be jealous of Remus Lupin, sure some girls liked him and he wasn't bad looking, but he was nothing compared to Sirius whose fame and admiration was far greater than Remus'. But now he felt a certain pang from the way Cassi looked at his friend, whenever their eyes met a smile would grow on both of their faces like they shared some sort of inside joke…but it was more than a joke, and every time that happened Sirius felt the desire to punch that smile right off Remus' face.

James had also noticed Remus and Cassi's somewhat strange behaviour. He didn't feel jealous, but more confused. Remus had told off Sirius for getting too close to Cassi and now it seemed that he was doing the same thing. James had to admit that if one of his friends were going to date Cassi he would much rather Remus and not Sirius. Still, there was something wrong about it. You can't tell your friend off for going after a girl and then go after said girl yourself. It just wasn't fair and quite honestly they would have to talk about it.

So one night, the Thursday that Remus returned from his trip, all the boys were up in their dorm getting ready for bed James decided he'd bring up the issue.

"Hey Remus what's going on with you and Cassi?" He asked noticing Sirius' head snapping up and Remus looking at him confusedly.

"What d' you mean?" He asked. All the boys were sitting on their beds now and Sirius looked at Remus madly.

"Well, you two just seem…closer" James said trying to explain himself without accusing Remus of anything. Remus just shrugged looking away trying to figure out what to say.

"Nothing's going on." Remus said. _If they only knew what it really was, they wouldn't think…I don't think of her like that, she's like a sister to me and I'm like her brother, nothing more. _

"Don't give me that crap. Obviously there's something going on, Lupin." Sirius practically snarled. "You can't tell me there's nothing." Sirius jumped up from his bed and moved toward Remus' finally losing whatever self-control he had. Luckily, James jumped up too and blocked Sirius.

"Sirius, mate, calm down, let's just talk 'bout this, we don't need anyone ending up in the hospital wing." He said as Remus too joined them standing in the middle of the room. Sirius calmed down a bit and no longer lunged at Remus. "Alright let's sort this out."

James pushed both boys back a bit to make sure they didn't start fighting.

"Right so Remus you say nothing's going on but you've got to admit it does look suspicious. I mean, we just told Sirius off for flirting with her and now-" James began looking at Remus, though Sirius cut him off.

"And now you're going after her!" Sirius said fuming.

"I'm not going after her! It's not like that at all! We're friends, that's it!"

"How can you go after a girl you know I fancy!" Sirius said so outraged that he didn't hear what Remus had said before. James and Remus turned to look at Sirius wide grins plastered on their faces and Sirius' eyes widened in shock as he realised exactly what he had said.

"You fancy her, huh? You fancy Cassi." James said with that stupid grin.

"Please don't kill me" Sirius said taking a half step back from the two boys who had once threatened him.

"About that I think, if you really fancy her, then maybe we shouldn't have said what we did." James said looking at Remus to see if he agreed.

"Yeah, I mean, we didn't know that you _fancied _her, we just thought you'd snog her and ditch her, you know. Honestly if we knew you fancied her…" Remus added with a smile as Sirius ran a hand through his hair awkwardly.

"So are you going to ask her out?" James asked. The threatening, intense atmosphere had completely evaporated, leaving one of comradeship.

"No, it's nothing, just a passing fancy." Sirius said walking back over to his bed.

"Like hell it is. Sirius you were ready to rip Remus' head off when you thought he had a thing with Cassi. You can't honestly say that it's just a passing fancy." James said scoffing at his friend.

"Well it is that's all it is."

"Really? So you'd be fine with me or Remus asking her out? What about that Ravenclaw she talks to, Carter isn't it? Would you be fine if she started dating Carter? If you saw him snogging her?" James taunted.

"I told you it's nothing." Sirius said as he shut the curtains around his bed.

"You know Sirius, for your sake, I hope you're right." Remus said as the other two climbed into their own beds.

The next morning the boys acted as nothing ever happened the last night. When they got down to the common room there was a large group surrounding the bulletin board, among them were the First Year Girls. Cassi broke apart from the group, a huge smile on her face as she approached her friends.

"I assume you guys haven't heard. The first Hogsmeade trip is this Saturday."

"Brilliant." James said as a half smile grew on his face. Just then, Lily walked over to Cassi apparently oblivious to the boys she was standing with. James, unfortunately, took this as the opportunity to act impulsively. "Lily, would you go with me to Hogsmeade?" He asked sweetly.

Cassi's mouth parted slightly as did the other boys'. Had Cassi not told them that Lily hated James? Lily apparently was just as shocked as the others.

"I-um…uh…" She stuttered as James looked at her smiling. Glancing around at the rest of the group, Cassi grabbed the other boys by the arms and dragged them away from Lily and James receiving a look of gratitude from Lily.

"Well, Lily, will you go with me to Hogsmeade?" James prompted still smiling.

"Um, n-no, sorry." She said walking away quickly as James' smile fell right from his face. Once Lily walked past, Cassi crossed the distance between her and James in a few strides and hit him upside the head.

"Ow, what was that for?" James said rubbing the spot where Cassi had smacked him.

"What the hell were you thinking James? I told you she didn't like you and then you go and do this?" She said gesturing with her hands to the current situation.

"I like her, you know. She's really pretty and smart and…"James trailed off dreamily as Sirius waved his hand in front of his best mate's face. After a couple moments James came to with a sheepish grin on his face. Cassi shook his head at him disapprovingly.

"Oh James, you should've talked to me before doing this. Did you ask Sirius for advice? Because he's not the one you should ask for advice."

"Hey!" Sirius said indignantly, but his comment went completely ignored.

"I didn't really talk to anyone, I just like her, so I thought…" The Marauders began walking toward the portrait hole for breakfast.

"James, I told you, I knew it! I knew you fancied her. And just by the way, never ask a girl out in front of other people. It makes it awkward to say yes and even more awkward to say no…She said no didn't she?" Cassi asked softly.

"Yeah, she did" James said pain clear in his voice. Sirius put a comforting hand on James' shoulder.

"Its okay mate, she'll come around. She's just playing hard to get, so you're going to have play never give up. She'll say yes, mate, just you wait." James nodded, some hope returning to his eyes, Cassi held her tongue, unwilling to crush her friends hope.

As they rounded one of the corridors on the way to the Great Hall, Carter, one of Cassi's acquaintances, and a few of his Ravenclaw friends were also walking slightly ahead of them to the hall. Upon seeing Cassi, Carter smiled and Sirius felt a corresponding jealousy flare within him.

"Hey Carter, did you hear about Hogsmeade?" She asked hurrying her pace to catch up to the Ravenclaws.

As they began chatting about the upcoming trip, James and Remus looked at Sirius who refused to meet their eyes, staring instead at Carter and Cassi as they smiled and talked.

"So much for a 'passing fancy'." James muttered to Remus who snickered quietly.

**A/N: Let me know what you think, i wasnt too sure about this chapter, its definitely not one of my favourites. Review. **


	27. Jealous?

**Chapter 27: Jealous?**

"Cassidy Maya Taylor, get up right now! Do not make me get Lily to use Aguamenti again." Alice yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Ugh, I'm up, I'm up, Alice calm down." Cassi said getting up and walking over to the bathroom so she could take a shower. Alice, Lily, and Becca were already up and showered, Cassi was the last one. They were getting ready for their first Hogsmeade trip, something that had them all excited.

Matt, a Hufflepuff all the girls were acquainted with, had asked Becca to Hogsmeade the day that they found out when their first trip was and she had immediately agreed. For the entire week Becca and Alice had been going through her wardrobe to figure out what she would wear.

Not long after that, a Ravenclaw by the name of Adam Winters, one of Carter and Matt's friends, asked Alice to go with him to Hogsmeade and, of course, she had said yes giving them both even more reason to be excited.

Lily had already agreed to spend the day with her friend, Severus, a Slytherin that Cassi didn't get along with. She was excited too, since she hadn't had a real opportunity to catch up with him seeing as he was in Slytherin, she was in Gryffindor (two houses that personally hated each other) and one of her best friends hated him.

Cassi originally had no plans for Hogsmeade, she hadn't really talked to the boys about it but she figured that they would all have dates, well except Peter, and none of them had brought it up yet. When Lily had offered to spend the day with her and Snape, Cassi had told her that she would rather spend the day alone with the undeniably creepy Peter Pettigrew (he was still a creep even if she was sort of friends with him.) than with Snape. Lily had responded with an indignant 'humph' but didn't push Cassi knowing that the two hated each other.

Luckily, Cassi didn't have to spend the day with Peter. A couple days after the news about Hogsmeade spread, Carter, a Ravenclaw friend of Cassi's, had asked her to go with him. Cassi already liked Carter, he was a really nice, smart guy, it wasn't like the attraction she had felt for Sirius, but that wasn't anything really, and besides she liked Carter, she really did.

Alice and Becca had left already to meet Matt and Adam. Lily had decided to wait for Cassi who was finishing up her make up in the bathroom. When she finished she walked out of the bathroom to her rather impatient friends.

"Oh my Godric! Cassi you look amazing!" Lily said looking at Cassi's outfit.

She was wearing a plaid white and red tunic with contrasting navy blue trims that fell to her mid-thigh with a draw string around her waist. It had small ruffles around the v-neck and hung on her thin frame perfectly. She wore dark skinny jeans that clung to her long, model-like legs and round toe, 2 inch wedge black suede booties that had a bow on the side. In her hand were a black knit sweater and a black and grey handbag.

"You think?" she asked turning to look at herself in the full length mirror.

"Of course, Carter's not going to know what to do with you." She said with a huge smile.

"Yeah, well, you don't look so bad yourself. You'll probably make Snape have a stroke or something." Laughing the two girls made their way down the stairs towards the Common Room.

When they got to the Entrance Hall the two girls parted to look for the people they would be spending the day with. As soon as Lily left, the other Marauders came down the staircase. Sirius was going with Kristie from Hufflepuff, a girl that for some reason hated Cassi and the others were just going together since Lily had turned James down and the other two hadn't asked anyone.

"Hey Cass, I thought you were going with that Ravenclaw." James said walking over to her.

"Yeah, his name's Carter, remember? And I just got down here, haven't found him yet. Have any of you seen him?" Cassi said knowing that the boys didn't like each other.

"No maybe he changed his mind." Sirius said rather coldly. Cassi scoffed at him unsure of how one of her best friends could hope that she would be stood up.

"I wouldn't do that." Carter said coming up behind Cassi who smiled at the look on Sirius' face. _Jerk_ she thought. Sure he was her friend, but he could a massive jerk sometimes. "Ready to go?"

"Yup, see you lot later." She said with a smile as the two walked toward the line of students that were leaving. Carter put his arm around her waist as they walked, holding her close to him.

Behind them, Sirius glared at Carter's back.

"That could have been you." James whispered as Kristie walked up to them smiling and bating her lashes.

"Hey Sirius, ready to go?" She asked latching on to his arm.

"Yeah, let's go." He said giving her a gorgeous smile and walking with her toward the line, making quite a show of how 'happy' he was with her by whispering jokes in her ear, to which she laughed fairly loudly.

The rest of the trip Cassi spent with Carter walking around and visiting the various shops. They stopped for lunch at the Three Broomsticks and talked a lot about their past and their families and school. They really hit it off and got along well, laughing and joking amicably.

After lunch they were wandering the streets idly having already visited most of the shops including Honeydukes, when they passed by Zonko's Joke Shop.

"Carter, would you mind if we stopped in at Zonko's?" She asked slowly, knowing that Carter wasn't really one for pranks.

"Of course, Cass, anything for you," He said chuckling at her slightly whinging tone. They walked in and Cassi's eyes widened at all the things she could use and rushed to a shelf that was covered in everything from dung bombs to fake wands, Carter following more slowly behind.

"Hey fancy seeing you here stranger." James said walking over with an arm full of merchandise along with Remus and Peter.

"I officially love this store, just saying." She said picking up a few things to get a better look.

"Phillips" James addressed Cassi's date with a slight nod.

"Potter, Lupin…Pettigrew." He responded in the same fashion.

"What are you guys getting?" Cassi asked as James proceeded to show her a few things. After that, the boys left the shop and Cassi hurried to pick out a few things that might come in handy for pranks.

"What are you going to need clothing dye for?" Carter asked picking up one of the bottles Cassi was paying for; she had won the argument over who was paying with Carter since she was the only one that was going to use it.

"I may have a few things in mind. Besides, how dashing would the Slytherins look in Gryffindor colours?" She asked receiving a chuckle and a nod of agreement from Carter.

They walked out of the shop and continued along the fall path eventually ending up in a small park on top of a hill with a few isolated and private benches.

Taking a seat and putting their bags on the bench beside them.

"I hope you've enjoyed yourself today, I know I have." Carter said smiling at Cassi.

"It's been wonderful, I've loved today." She said also smiling and looking at looking at him through her lashes.

After a couple moments of comfortable silence, Carter leaned forward and brushed a strand of hair back from Cassi's face, resting his hand on the side of her face as he brought his lips to meet hers. When they broke apart, both of them were grinning and Cassi was blushing slightly. _He doesn't think that kissing me was a mistake. _She thought just before they kissed again.

Cassi and Carter spent the rest of their afternoon in the park (not snogging all the time, but talking). They learnt all about each other, but it was the really important stuff. It was only the light, nice and clean things. They didn't really talk about anything too deep or any messy things that involved complication or drama.

At 3:00 they headed back to the school with the rest of the students, smiling and still talking. After saying goodbye to Carter, Cassi decided she would head back to the Gryffindor Common Room to catch up with the boys. As she was walking she saw Kristie and Sirius walking along the corridor.

"Hey Cass" Sirius said as both him and Kristie came to a stop in front of her. Sirius' arm was around Kristie and she placed a possessive hand on his shoulder, basically telling Cassi to back off.

"Hey, Sirius, did you go to Zonko's?" Cassi asked striking up a conversation.

"No, I…uh, we didn't get a chance." Cassi sensed that he wanted to go but she didn't and apparently she won that battle.

"Too bad, it's pretty damn awesome in there. James got a few things, I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing." She said as Sirius looked at the few bags she had in her hand.

"You got stuff too? Didn't think you'd go in what with Phillips and all." He said using Carter's last name to show his distaste.

"Carter didn't mind, plus I really had to see what they had."

"What d' you get?" He asked as Kristie became frustrated with her lack of involvement in the conversation.

"I suppose you'll just have to find out." She said with a mischievous smile.

"You wouldn't…"

"…Except that I would."

"Uh what exactly are we talking about, Siri-kins?" Kristie asked obviously not following their train of thought as Sirius visibly cringed at the use of his nickname and Cassi burst out laughing.

"What?" Kristie asked as Sirius glared at Cassi who was now trying to compose herself. "Are you making fun of me?" She asked Cassi probably trying to look intimidating, but it just wasn't working since she had just called _Sirius, _Siri-kins.

"No, no I'm not." She said still with a brilliant smile.

"Are you mocking me?" Kristie asked completely seriously and wiping the smile off Cassi's face.

"No I said that already." She said looking a Sirius incredulously.

"Kristie really she didn't mean anything by it." Sirius said sighing and running a hand through his hair, Kristie's hand had detached itself from Sirius and Sirius had removed his arm from around her while they were talking. Nodding Kristie seemed to calm down a bit but still looked at Cassi haughtily.

"Right well I'm going to head back to the Common Room," Cassi said eager to get away from the increasingly awkward situation.

"I'll come I've got to talk to James anyway." Kristie gave Cassi an exceedingly hateful glare. "See you later Kristie."

"What about a goodbye kiss?" She asked bating her lashes at him. Sirius glanced at Cassi then at Kristie before looking back at Cassi.

"Uh, I'll just get going." Cassi said awkwardly walking around them shaking her head to rid herself of any mental images. A few moments later Sirius ran up beside her, and the somewhat awkward moment she had escaped became an even more awkward one. "So, um, Siri-kins, huh?"

"Ugh, don't even say that." Sirius said running a hand through his hair and instantly the awkwardness evaporated.

"Have you told her you don't like it?"

"Yeah, and she was all like, _I'm so sorry Siri-kins it's just so cute_." He said mimicking a preppy girl's high voice. Cassi laughed and smiled at his imitation.

"Damn, that sucks. How was the rest of your date though?"

"Meh, it was fine. What about yours?" Sirius asked as they started down the corridor that led to the Fat Lady.

"It was great, thanks for asking."

"Don't expect me to be friends with him now. I don't like the guy." Sirius said clearly being a loose with his description of his dislike for Carter.

"That's fine you don't have to. I don't particularly like Kristie either." She said.

"Jealous?"

"I just don't like her, plus she doesn't like me."

"Aw, how could anyone not like you?"

"Easy, ask my family." She said giving the password and stepping through the portrait hole followed by a bit of a dumbfounded Sirius.

"Wait what?" He asked.

"Long story" She said shrugging. "I'll see you later" Cassi called as she ran up the stairs to the girls' dorm without waiting for Sirius to respond.

**A/N: I like this chapter even less. I didnt really know what to do with it and i had to put Hogsmeade in, it's mostly filler. Hopefully the chapters will get better. Please tell me what you think and dont get mad at Cassi for going out with Carter, Sirius hasnt told her anything about how he feels and she doesnt really know how she feels about him.**


	28. Girl Warfare

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews!**

**Chapter 28: Girl Warfare**

The next couple of days passed with increased homework and decreased morale. School was starting to wear on the students of Hogwarts including the Marauders. They were swamped. Every Professor had given them essays to write as though they had all conspired against the students and schemed this brilliant plan. Of course that didn't stop the Marauders from plotting.

"I'm thinking we need to prank the teachers, collectively, you know?" Cassi asked as the five Marauders sat in the first year boys' dormitory after giving up on their homework for the time being.

"I agree, like did they really need to give us essays and reports in _every _class, I thought we'd be free in Herbology at least." James said clearly exasperated.

"So we are actually going to prank the professors?" Remus asked hesitantly.

"Wait; before we keep going how do we know one of us isn't going to spill our plan?" Sirius asked looking at Cassi.

"Why the hell are you looking at me?" She asked indignantly.

"Oh come on, of all of us, you're the most likely to talk." Sirius said rather accusingly.

"Really, I am? I'm the most likely to talk? Who the hell do you think I'm going to tell? Carter? Lily? Honestly Sirius, my life doesn't revolve solely around pranks and I would never say anything, I've got far too much common sense for that!" She said looking at him like he had gone completely mental and was suggesting they all drink one of Peter's potions (definitely dangerous stuff, everyone knew that Peter was dangerous with his accidents).

"I'm just saying. What would you say if Phillips asked what we were working on?" He asked challenging her.

"I would say that I can't tell him and if he respected me he wouldn't pressure me." Cassi said as though it were the most natural and fail-proof thing in the world.

"That's it? If you respect me you won't ask?" Sirius said looking at her like she was completely idiotic to think that would work. "That's not going to work!"

"Wow, you really know nothing about girls do you?" Cassi asked a thoroughly affronted Sirius who considered himself quite knowledgeable on the subject. "That is how girls fight. We don't go all crazy and punch or hex people; we play mind games and manipulate people."

"Wait, so how exactly would that statement manipulate Phillips?" James asked sounding genuinely interested.

"Well James, I told him absolutely nothing, not when we were going to meet, not why, and not even a little clue. A natural response would be to ask for more information, to find out something, but he can't ask me anything without insulting me. By telling him that he would disrespect me by asking I create another barrier that he has to get around. He can't come right out and ask because I would freak at him for not trusting me and showing me a complete lack of respect and then from there I would go on to say how he can't go around expecting to be treated better because he's a guy. I would turn a simple matter of asking when we're going to meet into an equality, lack of trust issue, which can potentially end relationships." James, Sirius and Remus looked at Cassi with raised eyebrows.

"Should you be telling us that? Isn't it against like girl code or something since now we know how girls fight?" James asked and Cassi smirked.

"Ah James, hearing about it doesn't mean you can pick it out when its happening, and even if you can, try accusing your girlfriend of manipulating you and see how it turns out. Really the only thing you can do is have a damn good explanation that covers every angle a girl could argue or say nothing and do what she tells you."

"That's evil" Sirius said shaking his head slowly and looking at Cassi somewhat horrified.

"That's Girl Warfare. It's even worse when it's with two girls because they're both trying to outsmart the other. Eventually it will come to either a physical confrontation like an actual fight or just a physical stand like one girl proving that she won." Cassi said with a shrug.

"Does that work all the time? The manipulation, does it always work?" Remus asked speaking up for the first time.

"No, well, I suppose theoretically it potentially could but in real life, no. Think about if a girl kept bitching over every little thing and turned it into something huge like gender equality (that's a big one by the way you don't want to be caught accused of gender bias) most guys would just give up and dump her, hell I would, that would be damn annoying. That would be why we girls have more than one tactic though it varies for every girl. Manipulation seems to be something we were born with." Cassi explained.

"So if it doesn't work all the time than what're your 'other tactics'?"

"Yeah, no, you guys don't get to know that, mostly because I don't really know, but I wouldn't tell you if I did." Cassi said as Sirius narrowed his eyes playfully. Then a great idea came to her and, if she did say so herself, it was brilliant. "Can you guys meet me in the Room of Requirement tonight at 7?" She asked getting up from her spot on the floor.

"Uh why?"

"Just be there, all of you." She said walking out of the room.

Cassi had to get to the library to figure out exactly what she was going to do and it was already 4:00. Dinner was at 5:30 and she still had her day's homework and a Potions essay that was due tomorrow, plus she had to meet Carter 6:00 in the library because she had agreed to help him with his Transfiguration Essay.

After rushing to the Room of Requirement to get make sure what she wanted to do would work, Cassi headed to the Common Room to find the girls so they could go for dinner since the other Marauders had inevitably left already. When Cassi had quickly finished her dinner she walked to the library where she found Carter waiting at a table with his Transfiguration text, parchment, quill and ink.

"Hey sorry I'm a bit late, it's been a hectic afternoon." She said giving her boyfriend a chaste kiss.

"No problem, how's you're homework going?"

"To be honest, I haven't really started." She said sitting in the chair across from him.

"Planning for the Marauders again?" He asked his tone changing from sweet boyfriend to hateful rival.

"Carter let's just work on the essay, okay?" Carter grumbled something in response but they worked on their essays, Cassi helping Carter occasionally. At around 6:30 Cassi sighed, she had to go meet the Marauders to fix their whole issue of secrecy.

"I've got to get going" She said knowing that Carter would immediately assume she was going to meet the boys, which she was, but still it was tiring.

"Meeting the Marauders?" He said somewhat sadistically, "Honestly Cassi, what're you planning, you're always leaving to meet them. The least you could do is tell me what you're doing."

"Carter, you know I can't tell you."

"Cassi, you know everyone says you're more than just friends with Black? All my friends say that you've got to be cheating on me. All the unexplained disappearances, you never tell me what the hell you guys do and you're _always _with him." Carter said putting down his quill.

"Carter, I'm not cheating on you and definitely not with Sirius. I don't really know what to say, I mean they're my friends; they're good to me, loyal you know. But, I can't tell you what it is we do, all I can say is that we are strictly friends, they're more like the brothers I never had. You're just going to have to trust me." She said pretty shocked that he could even think that she would cheat on him. The only part that was a lie was that they aren't all like brothers, Sirius isn't really a brother, she didn't know what he was, but it's not normal to kiss your brother, or your brother figure, full on the lips.

"Sometimes it's hard you know to be the only one with a girlfriend that spends all her time with other guys. I feel like I'm never with you. Black hogs all your time. Please Cassi can't you find a little more time for me?"

"Yeah, I'm sure I can figure something out, although with all this homework we've been getting most of it might be spent in here working. I'm sorry that we haven't been spending a whole lot of time together, but we definitely can. But right now I've got to get going, we'll talk tomorrow, okay?" She asked getting up and giving Carter a kiss before walking out of the library.

_Well, things just got a whole lot more complicated. Now I've got to balance a new prank, the Marauders, Carter and all the homework. I don't know how I'm going to survive. How do girls do it? _Cassi thought as she climbed to the seventh floor. _The one thing I didn't mention about Girl Warfare: it almost never ends exactly the way it was planned. _

**A/N: So this chapter doesnt seem too important and its probably really boring (sorry about that) but I promise it will be important later. Next chapter should be better. Reviews make it happen**


	29. The Marauders' Code

**A/N: Thank you to all you faithful reviewers, you guys are the best! (Thank you to everyone that has suscribed to this story as well!) Now back to the story.**

**Chapter 28: The Marauders' Code**

Cassi hurried up to the Seventh floor corridor where the Room of Requirement would appear. After pacing back and forth three times a door appeared in the wall. At exactly 7, the four Marauder boys walked into the corridor seeing Cassi waiting by the door for them.

"I didn't know you guys were so punctual." She commented with a smile.

"Its one of my many selling points." Sirius said jokingly.

"More like your only selling point" Cassi muttered as the boys stopped in front of her.

"What was that?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh, nothing" Cassi said feinting innocence.

"Alright, Cass, we're here, so what's this about?" James asked ignoring the small exchange between Sirius and Cassi.

"Remember our conversation today about secrecy? Well I think I've found away to give us all a bit of peace of mind." She said before leading them all into the Room of Requirement.

Inside, the room had a comfy atmosphere, somewhere you'd go with friends to just hang out. Kind of like a more private version of the Gryffindor Common Room. There were five arm chairs positioned in a circle with a table in the middle, on it a few sheets of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink.

"Please take a seat" Cassi said gesturing to the chairs as the boys filed past her and each took a seat leaving one for her between James and Sirius. "Alright, well since we are the Marauders, and we're kind of our own little society that relies on secrecy and trust, we need something that will be _our _rules. We need a Marauders Code."

"So you mean we should write our own constitution?" Remus asked and Cassi nodded as she looked around the circle at her fellow Marauders.

"I'm in; it makes sense to have some sort of guideline." James agreed.

"Yeah, and that way if anyone asks us something, we'll actually have a reason for not telling them." Sirius added.

"Alright so I guess we should put it to a vote: all in favour of creating the Marauders' Code say 'I'"

"I" Sirius, James and Remus said simultaneously. When Peter didn't answer, everyone in the circle turned to look at him.

"Oh uh-I" He stuttered out blushing in embarrassment that he hadn't said it with the other boys. Re-focusing her attention on the matter at hand Cassi continued.

"Now all that's left to do is to actually write it." She slid forward in her chair to reach the supplies on the table. "Okay, so we all have to agree with each of the conditions of the code and at the end we have to sign it or something to make it official and binding."

Half an hour later, Cassi sat back a bit, finally finished writing the last of the agreed upon terms.

"Alright so everyone just needs to sign it, now." She said dipping her quill in the ink once again to sign her name. After cleaning the excess ink off the quill, Cassi held it over the bottle, hesitating. "It's missing something." She said resting the quill on the edge of the bottle.

"Like what?" Remus asked peering over her shoulder at the parchment.

"You know on contracts how the last line says something like 'I solemnly swear to uphold these conditions'? We need something like that to sign our names to." She said frowning slightly in thought as she gazed at the parchment.

While they were composing the Code, the boys had gathered closer around her so they too could see everything that was written. Sirius was sitting on her right, James on her left, Remus a little behind Sirius and Peter behind James. Each of them had taken turns writing points that they had come up with, even Peter wrote one messily. The result was a compilation of Marauder expectations and principles, the fundamentals, and it had a bit of each of them in it.

"Okay, so we do 'solemnly swear' so we can use the beginning we just need to come up with something purely Marauder to swear to." James said also thinking.

"What about 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'? That's Marauder style right? We never are up to any good." Sirius suggested.

"Sirius, that's brilliant." Cassi said smiling at him; her brightly twinkling eyes causing Sirius' heart to skip a beat as he gazed into them.

"Yeah, mate, good one." And just like that, the classic 'perfect' Muggle movie moment, where the boy stares into the girl's eyes and realises he loves her, was gone at the sound of James' voice.

"It's actually pretty catchy." Remus commented smiling and nodding.

"Well, Sirius, I think you should be the one to write the official Marauders slogan." Cassi said as she handed Sirius her quill, her fingers brushing his lightly caused butterflies to erupt in his stomach. Shaking off the feeling, Sirius decided to make a joke of the ceremonious atmosphere.

"Oh my gosh, guys, this is just such an honour, I can't believe you guys chose me to do this!" He gushed fanning himself as though he just won Miss England earning a few laughs from the boys and a smile and an eye roll from Cassi.

"Shut up and just write the bloody oath." She said shoving his shoulder. Grinning, Sirius pulled the parchment closer to him and wrote the words beneath the conditions of the Marauders' Code.

"There _now _we can sign it." Cassi said and all the boys looked at her.

"You're sure? Nothing's missing this time?" Sirius asked.

"Just for that, you don't get to sign first..." She plucked the quill from Sirius' hand, "…James does, then Remus, then Peter, _then _you." She said handing the quill to James.

They each took a turn signing their names, sealing their commitment, swearing their oath. After Cassi, who was last to sign, they each sat looking at their Code, their law, their names.

"Anything else Cass?" Remus asked as Cassi looked the page over.

"No, it's perfect."

**The Marauders' Code**

**1.** Be Loyal. Look out for each other

**2.** Keep Each others' Secrets

**3.**** Marauders Secrets** are things that only Marauders know.

**a.** Marauders may not divulge any of these secrets unless **all **Marauders agree

**b.** Never sell out fellow Marauders

**4.** Help each other in every way possible

**5.** Do what is right and don't look back.

**6.** Trust each other, Marauders will always understand.

**7**. Enjoy yourself, Prank People (especially ones that deserve it a.k.a. Slytherins)

**8.** Never give up, don't submit to anything you don't believe

**9**. Speak your Mind, even if it means talking back to Professors

**10**. Don't be afraid to get a detention, accept consequences

**11.** Reinvent yourself every once in a while (that counts for pranks)

These are the Marauders rules to live by. Obey them, remember them, and when the time comes, add to them.

**As a Marauder,**

**I solemnly swear that I am up to no good**.

James Potter Remus Lupin Peter Pettigrew Sirius Black Cassidy Taylor


	30. Context

**A/N: Thanks so much to all your reviews, I love them and they make my life and encourage me to write, so keep it up and I'll keep writing. Deal? Anyway back to the story:**

**Chapter 30: Context**

September passed with many pranks from the Marauders and even more detentions for them. The coming of the new month meant many things. It meant that Remus would have to face another full moon. It meant another Hogsmeade trip and most importantly, October meant Halloween, and that meant a dance.

On October 3rd a notice was posted in all the common Rooms telling the students of the upcoming costume dance that was going to be held on Halloween. It seemed that every girl was thrilled at the concept of the dance. It meant that they would have dates; that boys would ask them to the dance, and maybe that boy would be the famous Sirius Black.

Though he was sort of seeing Kristie, nothing was ever definite with him. He had never asked her to be exclusive and never asked her to be his girlfriend. He knew that Kristie wouldn't step out on him, she wouldn't go around snogging other guys, and if she did, Sirius didn't care. So he didn't know who he would ask to the dance, chances were that it would end up being Kristie, mostly because Cassi would be going with her _boyfriend, _Carter.

So everyone went about their days wondering and gossiping about the upcoming dance, the dance that was 28 days away.

"Cassidy? Cassidy, can I ask you a question?" A Hufflepuff, Miranda Adams, ran up to Cassi as she walked to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Um, hey Miranda, what's up?"

"I was just wondering; do you know who Sirius is asking to the dance?" Miranda asked as the smile dropped of Cassi's face.

"You're one of them." She said shaking her head in disdain. "I don't know who Sirius is asking to the dance, Godric, you'd think people would want to ask me other things, but no, every bloody day people only ever ask me about bloody Sirius Black and the bloody Halloween Dance!" Cassi scowled exasperatedly.

"Oh sorry, but do you think you could mention something about me. I'd love to go to the dance with him." Miranda added a smile that made Cassi glare daggers at her.

"For the love of Merlin, you are pathetic! Ask him your bloody self and just leave me out of it!" Cassi pushed past the stunned Hufflepuff and continued to Gryffindor Tower where she stormed into the Common Room and right over to the Marauder boys who were sitting on their customary couch. She smacked Sirius on the back of the head and walked around to the front of the couch glaring at him.

"Ow, what was that for?" Sirius rubbed the back of his head and looked up at Cassi, taken aback by the intensity of her glare.

"Have you asked anyone to the dance yet?" Sirius' face contorted into a confused frown.

"No, I- Ow!" Cassi hit the back of his head again as soon as he answered 'no'.

"Ask someone to the bloody dance! Do you know how many times I've been asked who the bloody hell you're taking to the bloody Halloween dance? Do you?" She spoke so forcefully that James and Remus even cringed and they weren't the ones being yelled at. "Every time a bloody girl sees me its 'Cassidy do you know who Sirius is taking to dance', or 'Cassi could you tell Sirius I'd love to go to the dance with him', it's bloody annoying!" She mimicked a prissy girl's voice for the parts in quotations adding in smiles and batting her lashes sarcastically to show just how mad she was.

"That's really not my fault…" Sirius trailed off as Cassi's eyes became even more livid.

"Not your fault? Not your fault? Of course it's your bloody fault! It's certainly not my fault, so it's your fault!" Just for good measure she smacked him on the head again as though she was beating in the fact that it was his fault.

"Cass, what exactly happened?" Remus asked hesitantly.

"Bloody girls keep asking me about the bloody dance and who Sirius is going to take to said bloody dance as though I'm supposed to know who he's going to take! I have a life of my own, I'm intelligent, hell I'll even gossip with those bloody girls, but all they ever care about is bloody Sirius Black. That's what happened, Remus." She said letting out an angry breath of air.

"Look, Cass, I'm sorry that those girls are bothering you, but I don't know who I want to ask to the dance, or even if I want to ask anyone…please don't hit me again." Sirius said as Cassi refocused her attention on Sirius, sighing she gave him a weak smile.

"Sorry…I've just been a bit stressed." Sirius scooted over on the couch and pulled Cassi down to sit with between him and James who was watching the scene quietly. Sirius wrapped an arm around Cassi and leaned into him relaxing a bit. James and Remus exchanged a look before moving to a table making some excuse about homework that fell on deaf ears.

"What's up Cass? What's been stressing you out?" Sirius asked holding her close to him hoping to relieve her anxiety.

"Oh I don't know, just everything I guess. I've been trying to juggle Carter and his Ravenclaw friends who think they're so much smarter when their really complete idiots, and school and you guys…I think it's just too much." She said tiredly gazing into the fire.

"You know you don't have to hang out with us, Cass. We'd miss you a lot, and probably end up putting Philips in the Hospital just so we could see you, but if it'd make things easier for you; you could cut back on the amount of time you hang out with us." Sirius said looking at her concerned only for her happiness and only wanting to make life better for her.

That was the thing about Sirius; he always tried to help his friends. He would do anything not caring if it inconvenienced him, as long as it made things even a little bit better for someone he cared about. Cassi turned her head and looked into his eyes smiling.

"I like hanging out with you guys, I didn't mean to make it sound like a burden, it's just hard because Carter's always saying that I should spend more time with him and the bloody Ravenclaws." Cassi said frowning at the thought of the Ravenclaws that Carter hung out with and resting her head on Sirius' shoulder.

They weren't awful, besides the fact that Carter said they thought she was cheating on him, but they weren't the same as the Marauders. Cassi didn't feel comfortable with them, she always felt like they were scrutinizing her every move and everything she said. She felt like an outsider with them.

"Well I could always put a few of them in the Hospital Wing, then you won't have to hang out with them." Sirius offered somewhat jokingly. Cassi didn't doubt that he would actually injure them all.

"Yeah, but then I couldn't hang out with you because you would be in detention for the rest of your life."

"Minor detail" Sirius said gently resting his head against hers which was still on his shoulder. He loved the close proximity between them, how natural it felt to have her so close and to have her resting with him. They were just sitting on the couch, nothing special, but having Cassi in his arms, it felt right, like she should be there with him.

Sighing once again Cassi said, "Well, I've got to go meet Carter." Sirius sighed too, just when he was thinking about how nice it was to sit with her, she was going to see her boyfriend.

"Let me know if you want me to hex them. I'll play the part of psycho best mate." He whispered into her hair before kissing her head gently.

"Thanks Sirius" She said as she stood to go somewhat reluctantly. "And sorry about hitting you earlier, take your time with deciding who to ask to the dance, things change all the time so sometimes its best to wait and see what changes." She said with a small smile and Sirius couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, she would break up with Carter and go with him instead. Sirius gave her a smile and a nod as she walked back out the Portrait hole.

When she got to the courtyard she found Carter's friends sitting on a few of the benches in a fairly private area, there was no else in the courtyard and Carter wasn't there either. Cassi checked the clock tower and saw that she was on time and so she walked over to the group of Ravenclaws she had been spending so much time with recently, not that she really wanted to.

"Hey guys, where's Carter?" She asked walking over to the group with a smile.

"He just left to get something from the Common Room, but he should be back soon." One of the boys, David, answered. Nodding, Cassi took a seat on the vacant park bench that she presumed Carter had been sitting in before.

"So, Cassi how's Black, doing?" Another boy, Adam, asked. Cassi had always gotten the vibe that he didn't like her, and guessed, or rather kind-of knew, that he was the one behind all the allegations of her 'cheating' with Sirius.

"He's fine, as is Lily and Alice and Becca and James and Remus and even Peter, well, as fine as he can be. Why do you ask?" She answered making a point of mentioning all her other friends.

"Just wondering, you guys seem close." He added as all the other boys exchanged uneasy glances.

"Yes, he's my friend, as is Lily and Alice and Becca and-"

"Yes, but you are particularly close with Black, are you not?" Adam cut across her. Cassi didn't say anything but looked at him unsure of where he was going. "Some might even say closer than friends, would they not?"

"I don't have to listen to this." Cassi said about to stand up.

"Listen to what?" Carter asked. He had just walked up to the group and looked between his mate and girlfriend.

"She's stepping out on you Carter." Adam said with no expression in his voice looking at Carter dead serious. Cassi shook her head with narrowed eyes at Adam exasperatedly.

"Wait what? Adam, what the hell is going on?" That hurt. Carter didn't ask Cassi to explain, he should've asked his girlfriend, not Adam to tell him what was happening. But then, it showed that Carter didn't trust Cassi, not really.

"I told you Carter. She's with Black, has been all along, lying whore." That took it too far. Cassi wasn't going to just sit there and have some idiot accuse her of cheating, especially when she hadn't.

"How many times have I told you that I am not _with _Sirius?" She glared at Adam wondering how much it would take to convince him.

"I have it on good authority that you two were rather 'close' today in the common room." Adam smirked awfully as he pulled out a picture from his pocket and handed it to Carter who looked disgusted at it and practically threw it at Cassi.

It was a picture from just 20 minutes ago, of Cassi's head leaning on Sirius' shoulder and his arm around her.

"Cassi what the hell?" He yelled as Cassi took a look at the picture.

"That's from today, just before she came down here you know. I guess you're getting a bit sloppy, slag." Adam taunted as Cassi felt rage flare within her.

"Where did you get this? You have no idea what this is!" She yelled at Adam clenching the picture in her fist.

"It seems pretty straight forward, Cassidy." Carter responded as Adam wore a sadistic smirk.

"Are you kidding me? You're not even going to listen to what I have to say?"

"Why should I? Look at the bloody picture!" Cassi stood up, her countenance very calm but there was ferocity, anger behind it all which showed in her eyes.

"Do you have any idea what I've been doing for you? If I was cheating on you, I would have ditched you a week ago. I haven't seen _my _friends properly in over a week because you asked me to spend more time with you, which I did. Everyday, I hang out with you and this idiot who I don't even like. They talk bad about me, sometimes to my face and in front of you, and you do nothing about it. I put off doing my homework so I can be with you and then I stay up late to finish everything. I haven't slept longer than 5 hours for over a week, I haven't had _any _time to myself, and you have the nerve to accuse _me _of cheating? You're an idiot." She pushed past Carter and stormed out of the courtyard quickly; she could feel hot, angry tears starting to form in her eyes and would not give those jerks the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

She hurried along the corridor stopping when she felt that her legs couldn't take her any farther and leaned against a window looking out onto the empty grounds, taking deep breaths. Just like that, with one little picture, a snapshot that was misinterpreted, had changed everything. Only Cassi could have given that picture context, context that would make sense and explain everything, context that would be understandable. That was the only thing that would have produced a different outcome, the thing that Cassi clung to that moment when everything, Carter included, was so questionable. Just a little bit of context, and everything cleared up.


	31. The Calm before the Storm

**A/N: Thank you so much to all those who reviewed (and everyone who has added this to story alert or favourites). Sorry it has been longer than usual for the update I've been running a little low on ideas so please REVIEW it will keep me going.**

**Chapter 31: The Calm before the Storm**

Cassi stood in the deserted corridor, too hurt to move any further, though she really just wanted to get far away from there, anger and betrayal boiling deep within her. Carter knew he had made a mistake. He knew that he shouldn't have listened to what his best mate had said about his girlfriend. I mean, everyone knows that girlfriend should trump best friend, shouldn't it? And Carter knew that by the way she walked out of the courtyard, Cassi was mad, not just mad but livid. It was a dangerous thing when a girl had that kind of rage directed at you, particularly when said girl knew how to prank and humiliate you without getting caught, and especially when that girl was extremely good friends with 4, okay 3, overly protective, rash boys who would punch the living daylights out of you. This is something else that Carter knew.

He knew that whenever Black, Potter and possibly even Lupin found out what had happened with him and Cassi he was in for a trip to the Hospital Wing, at the very least one hell of a black eye and public embarrassment. It was very clear to him that he messed up, big time.

The worst part was that he actually liked Cassi. He liked being her boyfriend. He liked that most of the guys in the school were jealous that she was his girlfriend and not theirs, including Sirius Black; she was after all one of the famous Marauders and possibly the coolest girl at Hogwarts, she played sports, hung out with guys (which could be a pro or a con) and she was a rebel, always getting into trouble. Now all of that was gone…unless...unless Carter could convince her to take him back. Yes, that was what he would do. He would apologize profusely, make her see it his way, and she would take him back. There was no question about it, she would take him back, of course he could make it seem like it was him that was taking her back…yes, that would work nicely for his reputation and social status. He would give her some time to cool down and in the morning he would go and talk to her.

Cassi, however, was done with Carter. That was it for her, the final straw. She had put up with his jealous need to regulate who she was friends with, but accusing her of cheating without giving her a chance to explain anything? No, uh-uh, that wouldn't work for her. It was one thing to ask her about the picture, she had to admit, they looked pretty cozy on that couch, probably because they were really cozy, but not in that way, not really.

She wouldn't have minded if Carter had asked her about it. She would have told him how stressed she had been feeling and how she practically abused Sirius for not asking someone to the dance yet. She would have explained to him that spending so much time with his friends while neglecting her own wasn't working. She would have told him that she was just too tired to keep going and that Sirius, like a good friend, was there for her and was trying to comfort her.

But the fact was that he didn't ask her. Either he was already resigned to the fact that she was a whore and was cheating on him, or he didn't trust her enough to ask for an honest answer. Regardless of why, that fact that he didn't consult her at all told Cassi that that relationship was over, there was nothing left and if that's the way he thought of her, then she didn't want anything to do with him.

Resigned to the fact that her relationship with Carter, if you could call it that, was over, Cassi went back to Gryffindor tower. The Marauders weren't in the Common Room so she didn't have to explain to them, something she really didn't want to do, she would talk to Lily and Alice and Becca. Even though the Marauders were great friends to Cassi, they were still boys and there was no way they could understand a girl's problems like another girl could. They just didn't have the estrogen that was required for proper empathy.

"Hey guys" Cassi greeted rather glumly as she sat at the table that her girl friends sat at.

"Hey Cass, what's up? I thought you were meeting Carter tonight." Lily commented as all the girls put down their quills and looked at the friend they had barely seen over the last week with concern. Cassi sighed before beginning retelling the evening's events. She told them everything, just wanting an honest opinion from them, including the part about Sirius and the picture, which it turns out, she still had. She showed them picture after she told the story and the girls inspected it.

"I wasn't wrong was I? Did I overreact?" She asked when she finished.

"No, Cassi you weren't even remotely wrong. Carter was a total jerk that doesn't deserve you. He should've been more understanding." Lily told her passing the picture to Becca.

"Yeah, if I were you I would dump him, no offence." Becca added as Alice eagerly snatched the picture from her.

"I totally agree, plus you and Sirius make a way cuter couple! I mean look at this it's adorable!" She said smiling at the 'adorable' picture of Sirius and Cassi.

It was a still picture, a Muggle one. Sirius had his arm around Cassi and was smiling at her softly his head gently touching hers which rested on his shoulder. Cassi was smiling at him in what seemed like a loving way. It was a picture perfect moment that they had shared together, neither one talking but drawing comfort and strength from each other, revelling in the simplicity and flawlessness.

"Alice, she hasn't broken up with Carter." Lily reminded quietly, no one was around but still, with the Marauders that could change in a second, there was no telling when they would turn up, just the guarantee that they would. "And who took the picture?"

"I don't know it was Carter's friend, Adam that had it and he just said 'I have my sources'." Cassi responded complete with air quotes. "I don't know if I really care, I mean it is creepy and an invasion of privacy but it showed me who Carter truly is, actually I already knew that but this just gave me enough push to get rid of him, I haven't actually spelled it out for him yet, but I will."

"Yeah you might want to make sure he actually gets it, although I'm sure he'll come find you tomorrow so you won't have to look for him or anything."

"And then you and Sirius can get together and be like the amazing couple that everyone wants to be, it would be like soul-" Alice stopped talking as Becca elbowed her and Lily shot her a clearly a _look_.

"Alice, Sirius isn't like that, he doesn't settle down, like at all. He's got like a new _flavour _every week, and I think he's still kind of-sort of with Kristie, who I absolutely can not stand. He's not my type Ali, and he would never go for me anyway."

Alice looked unconvinced and glanced down at the picture that she still had in her hand but didn't push it since the Marauders walked into the Common Room and it was no longer 'safe' to talk privately especially about said marauders.

"Cass, I thought you were with Philips?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow walking over to the table she sat at, James, Remus and Peter following which caused Lily to roll her eyes. Cassi just shrugged.

"Yeah well, I'd rather spend my night here than with the idiotic Ravenclaws, which I realise is somewhat an oxymoron."

"Alright, come on, we've got a prank to plan." James said grinning with his mischievous Marauder glint in his eyes.

"Oh no you don't Potter, Cassi's with us tonight, go away we've got catching up to do." Alice told him shaking her head.

"You lot share a dormitory with her so you see her more than we do, she's with us. And you don't have a choice." Sirius said pulling Cassi up from the chair she was sitting in and lifted her into his arms.

"Sirius Black you put me down!" Cassi shrieked at him completely shocked that he lifted her up.

"No can do, Cass, I miss you too much." He gave her a wink before beginning to walk to the boys' dormitory stairs. "We have pranks to plan."

"Sirius put me down, I'll walk myself up, and the staircase is too narrow I'll hit my head!"

"I'd much rather carry you up and I promise you won't hit your head." Sirius said quietly holding her head closer to his body so they would fit more easily up the staircase. The other Marauders followed behind them, James and Remus smiling and exchanging a look.

"How can she be so daft? Of course he would go for her." Alice whispered to the other girls at the table as she watched Sirius carrying Cassi.

"Ali, I don't think that's the problem. The problem is that he would hurt her, he doesn't commit and you remember what happened when he kissed her, don't you?" Becca reminded Alice gently.

"But what if he was just confused then because of some other stuff, what if he knows now that he really wants to be with Cassi and he just snogs those other girls because he really loves her but can't be with her so he tries to forget with all the others." Alice said desperately trying to convince them that Sirius and Cassi could be together.

"Alice, this isn't a novel, it's Cassi's life, Sirius is a player and she'll end up hurt. It won't turn out well so it's best to just let them be." Lily said softly before returning to her homework.

That night the Marauders had spent plotting another prank. Cassi had been sitting on one of boys' bed since Sirius had set her down in their dorm, as the other boys continued to talk about ridiculous ideas, Cassi had slowly drifted off to sleep, she was incredibly tired and though she loved pranking, the bed was really comfy. Later that night, when the boys finally decided that they should go to bed, and they recognised that Cassi was asleep (they all knew but no one mentioned it since they all understood how tired she had been).

"What should we do? She said she hasn't been sleeping much for like a week."

"Yeah I don't think we should wake her, by the time she gets to her dorm she won't be able to get back to sleep."

"She's in Sirius' bed." Remus addressed the dragon in the room. Both boys turned to look at Remus, Sirius annoyed and James thoughtful.

"Good point, you can't exactly sleep in the same bed as her, maybe we should wake her up."

"No we should let her stay; I'll sleep on the floor, I don't mind." Sirius said walking over to his trunk and getting some blankets and a pillow out. Remus and James exchanged a look.

After setting up a make-shift bed, Sirius turned to look at Cassi. She looked peaceful and if he was being honest, Sirius wanted nothing more than to just lie down next to her and hold her in his arms (in a totally innocent way, people get your minds out of the gutter). Of course, Sirius would never do any of that. She had a boyfriend and he had a…something. Remus and James got into their own beds after pulling off their robes and closing the curtains around their bed after whispering goodnight to their friend. Peter had already fallen asleep and his snores were echoing off the walls of their dorm.

As he watched her, Cassi shivered a bit in her sleep. Sirius walked closer to the bed and gently lifted Cassi, careful not to jostle her awake. He pulled the covers back and set her down. Sirius softly drew the covers up to her shoulders so she wouldn't be cold. Looking down at her sleeping face he couldn't help but notice how peaceful and beautiful she looked with just the light from the stars and quarter moon washing over her. He brushed one of her curls of her face and bent so his face was right over hers.

"Goodnight Cassidy" Sirius whispered as he kissed her forehead tenderly.

**REVIEW?**


	32. Freedom

**A/N: Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/added this story (or me) to alerts and favourites. Hope you enjoy the next chapter. **

**Chapter 32: Freedom**

Cassi woke up the next morning from the best sleep she had had in over a week breathing in a light musk of soft honey and rich earth, a scent that was familiar and definitely not her own. The realisation that she was not in her own bed made her eyes snap open. Sitting up, Cassi pulled back the hangings on the bed part way remembering as she looked around that she had been in the Marauders' dorm the night before…but then whose bed was she in? Cassi yanked back the curtains the rest of the way, the ends brushing against Sirius' face waking him from his sleep. Groaning Sirius forced his eyes open blinking a few times from the light.

"Sirius?"

"Oh hey, morning Cass." Sirius sat up smiling at Cassi's confused and shocked face.

"Why are you on the floor?"

"Ehm, you're kind of in my bed so…" Sirius trailed off not really sure whether Cassi would agree with his decision not to wake her up. Cassi's eyes widened a little in realisation.

"Oh…so you slept on the floor?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she tried to piece together what happened after she fell asleep.

"Um yeah, well you were asleep…"

"You could've woken me up, you know? You didn't have to sleep on the floor."

"Oh well, um it's just that you said you weren't sleeping well…sorry." Sirius looked down, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Cassi pulled the covers off and hopped down onto Sirius' make shift bed throwing her arms around him.

"Thank you Sirius" She startled him to say least, he had not been expecting her to hug him and after a few startled moments he wrapped his arms around her returning the hug.

"No problem, Cass" Cassi pulled back a bit so she could see him better but she didn't move her arms from around him.

"You really didn't have to sleep on the floor though; you could've just pushed me over." Sirius looked completely shocked that Cassi would even suggest that they share a bed.

"B-but yo-you have a boyfriend" Sirius managed to stutter as Cassi sighed and dropped her arms from around his neck.

"Had, I had a boyfriend, now I don't"

"Oh um sorry, wh-what happened-you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Nah, it's alright. Carter's a jerk, a _really _big jerk, like I didn't think anyone could be that big of a jerk but he is, and I'm done with his jerk-ish-ness, so yeah."

"Did he do something to you? Did he hurt you, Cass, because if he did-" Sirius immediately became overprotective in an _I'm going to beat the crap out of him _sort of way.

"No, well, kind of. You know how we were sitting on the couch yesterday? Well I don't know who, but someone took a picture and then one of the idiot Ravenclaws I told you about showed Carter, and then Carter thought we were having an affair or something, and then he wouldn't let me talk and so I'm done with him. And I'm rambling, sorry." Cassi bit her bottom lip nervously looking at Sirius who smiled at her sympathetically.

"It's alright Cass, about the rambling thing. I'm really sorry about Phillips though, it's my fault Cass, sorry."

"What? You're fault? It's most definitely not you're fault, Sirius. Carter's just…a jerk, there's nothing else to call him really, he's just a jerk. And now I have to officially tell him that we're done because I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to spell it out for him which really sucks because I just want to be done with him. I never really liked him I don't think. I'm pretty sure I only tolerated him. And you don't want to hear this, I don't know why I'm telling you all this, so I'm just going to shut up now."

"Cass, I want to hear anything you have to say, alright? So tell me everything, because I _want_ to hear it, okay?" Sirius held her gaze with an intense passion and it was almost like he wanted to say more but settled for just telling her through a look. Cassi smiled softly at him showing her agreement almost surprised at Sirius. _Almost. _

"Well, um, I should probably go change and shower, so I'll see you in a little bit?" Cassi asked as she stood up smoothing her clothes out.

"Yeah I'll see you in a bit." Sirius watched Cassi walk to the door of the dorm somewhat sadly. Sure they had just had a really good moment, but it was over now and she was walking away. With her hand on the door knob Cassi turned back to look at him.

"Thanks again Sirius, for everything." Cassi walked out the door feeling much better about, well, about everything in her life.

"Cassidy Maya Taylor, where in Merlin's name have you been? Did you spend all night in boys' dorm?" Alice asked with a scolding tone that rivalled Cassi's mother as soon as she stepped into her dorm.

"Um, maybe…?"

"What do you mean maybe? Were you with the boys all night or not? We were worried about you! You could've been killed or something!" Lily said popping out of the bathroom to join Alice in the questioning. Cassi rolled her eyes at both girls.

"Calm your melodramatic selves, I'm fine, I was fine all night I didn't get murdered." She walked over to her trunk and pulled out her uniform outfit.

"So where were you then?" Becca joined the conversation now coming out of the bathroom with a mascara brush in her hand.

"With the boys…"

"Cassidy, did you _sleep _in the boys' dorm? Oh my gosh, you did! Cassi!" All three girls looked at her with shocked expressions, like they couldn't believe their friend could do such a thing, it was almost as if they thought something _happened_.

"Just take a deep breath, in and out guys, calm."

"CASSI"

"Alright, jeez, I did sleep in the boys' dorm but it's not what you're thinking. I just fell asleep while they were plotting Merlin knows what and they decided to just let me sleep-or Sirius did-something like that." Alice's eyebrows shot up at the mention of Sirius' name and she exchanged a look, Becca having retreated to the bathroom to do the rest of her makeup.

"Sirius Black, wanted to let you _sleep _in the _boys' _dorm?" Alice asked throwing a significant glance at Lily who was looking at Cassi wide-eyed and open mouthed. "So whose bed did you sleep in?" Alice continued as though she was trying to prove some sort of point.

"Ehm…" Cassi mumbled something inaudible as she pulled off her clothes from the day before and began redressing in her uniform.

"What was that?" Lily finally snapped out of her shocked state and sat down on her bed completely ready for classes.

"Sirius'" She said quietly buttoning up her shirt not looking at her friends who gasped dramatically.

"Cassi, you didn't?" Lily said looking quite honestly worried.

"Oh my god no! No, no, no Lily, how could you even…no!" Cassi eyes widened frantically as she tried to dispel the thoughts of her friend. "No, it wasn't like that at all, I woke up fully clothed thank you! And he slept on the floor."

"He slept on the floor?" Alice asked curious but still with the same point-to-prove tone.

"Yeah I told him how tired I'd been and then I fell asleep and he wanted to let me sleep, so I slept on his bed and he took the floor." Cassi began to tie her tie blowing her hair out of her face.

"Aw that's really sweet." Alice and Lily smiled looking like they just finished hearing the best sappy romance story in the history of the world.

"Yeah actually it was."

"So what're you going to do about Carter?" Becca asked rejoining the conversation.

"Ugh, I'm breaking up with him as soon as I see him; I just want to be done with it all. I want to be single and just hang out with you guys and pull pranks with the Marauders, Merlin I really want to prank someone."

"Well I'm glad you're over him and you're not like heartbroken or whatever."

"I'm glad I'm not like heartbroken or whatever too, let's go for breakfast." After taking a quick look in the mirror and deciding she was presentable the girls trooped down the steps and out into the hall, unfortunately waiting right outside the Portrait Hole was none other than Carter. "Oh bloody hell." Cassi muttered as soon as she saw him.

"Cassi, Cass can we talk?"

"Oh _now_ you want to talk fine let's talk...I'll see you lot in the Great Hall." Clearly not wanting to be there she walked a little further from the Portrait Hole, "Are you just going to stand there? Come on" Cassi was feeling a little bitchy today and impatient and Carter just standing staring at her was not helping.

Carter, a little shocked at her new attitude, followed her off to the side and was about to start talking but Cassi began first.

"Alright, so here's how it's gonna be: I'm going to talk and you're going to listen. You're not going to say anything, you are going to let me talk and then you will nod to show you're agreement. Now that we have that settled I think we can move on.

"All I have to say to you is that I'm done. There is no more 'us', I'm not your girlfriend and you sure as hell are not my boyfriend. What you did last night was unacceptable. You don't humiliate me like that, ever. I didn't do anything wrong, at all, and you excuse me of being a slag, a whore, and basically an unfaithful bitch. You told me every chance you got that I was a terrible girlfriend, and maybe I was. But you, Carter, you're a horrible boyfriend. No, shut up and listen, you don't get to talk remember?

"Now as I was saying, you were an awful boyfriend. You didn't let me spend any time with _my _friends. Your idiot friends talked bad about me, sometimes right in front of me, and you did nothing. The people I hung out with for you were awful to me. I was so tired, I was basically dead on my feet for a week trying to balance everything, and you didn't notice or care. I was neglecting my best friends. You know if one of them did that to me I would be so pissed, but they're not, they're very nice people, but because four of them are guys you couldn't accept that we're friends.

"So the point is while I may have been a bad girlfriend, you were a terrible boyfriend but I don't need to worry about that anymore because I'm breaking up with you. I'm free now, and I know it sounds really mean, but it's the truth. So goodbye Carter, have a good life." Smiling Cassi turned and began walking down the corridor so she could join her friends for breakfast when Carter caught her hand and pulled her back to face him.

"Don't I get a say in any of this?"

"No, no you don't get a say, I thought I made that clear at the beginning of this thing. You don't get to talk; you don't get a say-"

"That is hardly fair! You can't do this to me, Cassidy, you can't just say that we're done and walk away without giving me a chance to explain anything."

"Actually I can. You didn't let me explain anything last night so why should I let you explain?" Cassi asked, her voice rising slightly in anger.

"This is not the same thing, at all!" Carter pretty much yelled in her face.

"It is the same, Carter; it is exactly the same thing!"

"No it's not, you're just giving up for the sake of it, and last night with that picture, you cheated on me."

"Oh get over it, I didn't cheat on you and I'm not just giving up for the sake of it, I'm cutting my losses. So get out of my face and suck it up." Cassi pulled her wrist out of his grasp and turned walking away, not noticing the other Marauders had just come out of the Common Room.

"You're just a bitch you know that? You're a bitchy whore, Cassidy, nothing more." Carter yelled down the corridor after her.

Cassi froze, closing her eyes and taking a breath. When she reopened her eyes she saw James, Sirius and Remus all looking at her with concern, the first two absolutely livid. Immediately they began walking toward her, Sirius in the front, almost jogging, looking like he was about to punch Carter in the face. They weren't very far down the hall and were within a few feet of Cassi in seconds.

"I don't know why I even bothered with you, you're nothing but one of Black's slags!" Carter continued on ranting, either he hadn't noticed the other Marauders or he just didn't care, it seemed that all he cared about was insulting and humiliating Cassi.

At this point, Carter was a couple meters behind Cassi and the Marauders were right in front of her. Sirius strode past Cassi, who turned to watch him, and continued toward Carter. The other boys stopped next to Cassi, James putting his arm around her.

"Go ahead and have her, Black, she's only a whore!" Carter spat and without wasting another moment, Sirius' fist collided with Carter's face, sending Carter stumbling backwards.

"Don't you ever talk to her like that again!" Carter's nose was bleeding and the skin around it was already bruising as Sirius turned and walked back towards Cassi, concern all over his face, shaking out his hand.

James removed his arm from Cassi and stepped back a bit as Sirius came nearer.

"Are you okay?" He asked his hands on her shoulders as he looked Cassi over to make sure she was alright.

"Yeah," Sirius pulled her into a hug obviously assured that she wasn't physically harmed.

After a few moments they pulled apart, but Sirius kept an arm around her shoulders.

"Come on let's go eat." Remus suggested knowing that if they were near Carter any longer James would probably make sure he ended up in the hospital wing. Sirius nodded and began guiding Cassi down the corridor.

"I guess he didn't take it so well, huh?" Sirius asked as Remus pulled James along.

"You guessed right."

"Okay, what exactly am I missing here?" James asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Carter was an ass so I broke up with him, which led to that little incident back there."

"Oh well, sorry that it didn't work out for you guys." Remus offered somewhat half heartedly.

"I'm not its actually quite a relief, I've been itching to prank someone, and I haven't seen you guys in what feels like forever."

"Well we've missed you, and don't listen to him, alright? He doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. You're not like that at all." James told her as Remus nodded his agreement. Sirius squeezed her shoulder a bit and smiled at her showing that he thought the exact same thing.

"Thanks guys, it means a lot." Cassi said softly as they walked into the Great Hall.

"Hey, um, guys, where's Peter?" Cassi asked looking around Sirius and the other boys for the other member of the group. The boys joined her looking around them for the shorter boy that shared a dorm with them.

"I think we may have lost him." Sirius admitted with a broad grin. Cassi beamed at them.

"I've missed you guys. I mean really, who else would lose their friend on the way to the Great Hall besides the Marauders?" She said beaming and chuckling.

Soon the entire group was laughing at the oddity that they were; Cassi was right, only they would accidently misplace one of the members of such a close knit group.

"I suppose we should go find him…after breakfast." Laughing they all made their way to Gryffindor table to quickly wolf down a breakfast before trying to find Peter and then hurrying to class.

**A/N: Hope you liked the chapter. Review anyone? **


	33. For the Love of Pranking

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while but i haven't been able to post this chapter due to: Error Type 2! AKA the bane of my existence...anyway if you're reading this then the error was fixed and i'm happy again but REVIEWS will make me even happier! SO thanks to everyone who reviewed and now back to the story:**

**Chapter 33: For the Love of Pranking**

Quidditch. Such a simple, two-syllable word that held so much passion. Quidditch was a game of blood, sweat, and incredibly loud cheers. It was a spectator sport. The sport of Wizards and evidently the Marauders. A few days after the incident with Carter a notice was posted in all the Common Rooms, the notice everyone was waiting for.

_Quidditch Opening Match_

_Gryffindor vs. Slytherin_

_Saturday October 22_

_Match Begins at 9am on the Pitch_

"Sirius!" Cassi yelled, having just read the notice with a penned in_**Duh**_ next to the final line, across the Common Room the Wednesday before the match.

The black haired boy turned quickly at the sound of his mate's voice much to the irritation of another first year girl he was talking to.

"What's up Cass?"

"Gryffindor versus Slytherin this Saturday!" She said the excitement clear in her voice. "And I might have an idea for a little Marauder prank."

"Care to share?"

"Sorry, Marauder Secret, you'll just have to wait."

"Cass, it's not a Marauder Secret if only you know what it is, then it's just your secret."

"Touché, but I'm not telling you until the others are here too. You'll just have to wait."

"Unless I can force it out of you, because, if we're being honest here, you really want to tell me."

"Sirius in order for you to force me to tell you, you'll have to catch me first, and if we're being honest here, you really can't." Cassi said before running out the Portrait Hole, Sirius following as he realised that she had just challenged him.

"You are so not faster than me!" The girl Sirius had been talking to in the Common Room stood completely and utterly shocked that he had just run from the room following a girl. That was just not something she was expecting so scoffing she walked back over to her friends where they all spoke of how rude the other girl was, the Marauder girl.

Cassi ran all the way down to the Kitchens without slowing. When she got to the portrait she stopped gasping for breath and waiting for Sirius to join her. A few seconds later Sirius ran up panting.

"Damn your fast." Sirius gasped at her leaning against the wall, hands resting on his knees.

"Told you, let's get something to eat, I'm hungry."

"Can you give me a minute to breathe? And dinner's in an hour, Cass."

"Oh come on, Sirius, stop your whining, and an hour's a long time!"

"Alright let's eat." Sirius found that he couldn't say no to Cassi, he always wanted to please her, to make her happy and keep her safe, he still hadn't decided on a suitable punishment for Philips and the other Ravenclaws that had insulted her though both he and James had been plotting, Remus for once not saying anything about the cruelty of their schemes.

The truth was they all had a soft spot for Cassi. Sure they would go after anyone who insulted a fellow Marauder, it was part of their code, but with Cassi it was different. They had a different kind of protectiveness over Cassi, maybe it was because she was a girl, but for some reason they all loved her, though for James and Remus (no one really knows about Peter) it was brotherly, for Sirius it was more. And that kind of love made it intolerable for some prat to insult her, to degrade her and just generally disrespect her. It was hard enough for Sirius to accept that the Ravenclaw had been snogging her without punching him out, to deal with that Sirius had snogged other girls, but to listen to him say those things about her…there was just no tolerance for that. Hence Philips ended up with a bloody nose and a bruised face something that was commented on by everyone and if one of the Marauders were around the answer was '_That's what happens when you disrespect a Marauder. Mess with one of us; you deal with all of us.' _

People figured out pretty quickly that Cassi had dumped him too, with a little help from Alice and Rebecca (girls with quite the social connections) and the Marauders talking about it loudly in front of known gossipers. They had pretty much ruined Carter's ego and any reputation he may have been forming, but still for Sirius and the others, because of what the prick did to Cassi, it wasn't enough.

"Good evening Master Sirius and Miss Cassidy, can Misty get you anything today?" Cassi bit her lower lip slightly as she considered the possibilities.

"Ooh, do you have nachos and salsa?" she asked with slightly widened eyes.

"Yes of course, Miss Cassidy, Misty will be right back, please sit. Anything for Master Sirius today?"

"No that's alright Misty, we'll share." Sirius said with a smile at the little elf as she scurried off to the other house elves before joining Cassi at one of the tables, taking a seat beside her.

"So nachos, Cass?"

"Yeah, well they're a good snack and not too filing because like you said dinner is in an hour."

"You always have an answer, don't you?"

"Pretty much, yeah…Do you want to know my idea for Saturday?"

"Of course, the Marauders have only done 1 really public prank and I think people are starting to doubt us."

"Exactly and since it's a Gryffindor/Slytherin match I reckon we should show some support for Gryffindor. So we could figure out a way so that when the Slytherins sit in the stands all their banners and clothing gets transfigured into banners and clothing supporting Gryffindor in our colours." As Cassi explained a grin grew on Sirius' face.

"How do you always come up with the most brilliant ideas?"

"Oh well I'm a genius…and part ninja." She replied grinning broadly.

"A genius Ninja, right how could I forget?" Sirius rolled his eyes but couldn't hide a smile and small laugh.

"But what do you think about my idea?"

"It's perfect for the Marauders, Ace." Cassi gave a Sirius a brilliant smile, pleased that he approved a factor that meant a lot to her for some unknown reason.

"Are you calling me 'Ace' again?"

"Yes I reckon it's a suiting nickname for you."

"Well I'm glad you think it's a good idea, of course we're going to have to do a lot of research in three days."

"Yeah and we can't let Peter near any of the colour changing spells." Sirius said raising his eyebrows amusedly.

"Good point, we don't want him setting something on fire again." Just then Misty returned with the nachos and salsa Cassi had asked for.

"Here are the nachos, Miss Cassidy, is there anything else Misty can get for Miss Cassidy or Master Sirius?"

"Thank you so much Misty, and I'm fine…"

"I'm good, too, Misty, thanks." With a bow, the small house elf walked away leaving them to enjoy the nachos. "These are really good." Sirius commented through a full mouth.

"I can see that you're hogging them all, and you weren't even hungry before!"

"Oh the horror!" Sirius replied melodramatically as he continued to wolf down the chips.

"Sirius, stop eating my food!" Cassi said pulling the plate of nachos away from him and turning her back to shield the plate. Sirius reached forward and poked Cassi in the side causing her to squeal slightly and sly grin to appear on his face.

"Cassi, are you ticklish?" Cassi looked over her shoulder at him.

"N-no" She answered knowing that once Sirius knew she was incredibly ticklish he would use that as an advantage.

"I think you are." He said once again poking her in the sides and tickling her. Cassi squirmed trying to get him to stop and laughed uncontrollably.

"Sirius…st-stop…can't…breathe…stop." She gasped through her fits of laughter.

"I don't think I will." Sirius replied smiling at her at chuckling at the way she squirmed.

Cassi leapt off her chair trying to get away so she could catch her breath but Sirius tackled her to the floor and ended up on his knees next to her still tickling mercilessly. Gasping for breath Cassi finally managed to hit both of his hands away and crawled away from him on the floor. Of course Sirius realised this and grabbed her foot dragging her back. Cassi kicked her foot free, and now closer to him, pushed him onto his back, her knees on either side of his hips, glaring at him.

Sirius was much bigger than Cassi, he was a guy and she was a girl just to state the obvious, so her weight could not hold him down. Easily Sirius flipped her off of him and onto her back, landing on the floor with a small thud. He rolled himself onto his front and straddled Cassi's hips as she had done to him, though he didn't put all his weight on her.

"Get off me!" When Sirius didn't budge Cassi poked him in the sides the same way he had poked her and much to her amusement he let out a bark of laughter before he grabbed both her wrists. Sirius held her arms above her head, pinned to the ground so she couldn't tickle him. He ended up straddling her waist and leaning over her, their faces inches apart as her chest rose and fell in deep breaths.

Sirius wore a genuine smile at their close proximity, intoxicated by her scent and overwhelmed at her beauty, once again compelled to kiss her. Cassi's lips were slightly parted as she struggled to control her breathing; her eye's locked with Sirius' which burned with an unknown intense emotion. From behind them someone cleared their throat rather loudly.

"Um…?"

Sirius and Cassi looked up; well Cassi tilted her head all the way back against the ground, to see who was there. The other three Marauders stood with raised eyebrows just inside the kitchens, gaping at Sirius and Cassi on the floor. Using Sirius' stunned state to her advantage Cassi flipped Sirius off her before hopping up and smiling at the three boys.

"Oh hey guys, what's up?" None of the boys answered as Sirius groaned and picked himself up off the floor.

"What-do we even want to know?" James asked hesitantly looking between Sirius and Cassi.

"Get you mind out of the gutter, Potter." Cassi said rolling her eyes. "It was about the nachos."

"What?" Remus asked looking at them like they sprouted eight heads.

"The nachos, Remus; Sirius was eating all my nachos! Merlin, you guys are so typical." Cassi returned to her seat at the table and ate a nacho leaving the stunned boys gaping at her back. "Oh and I have an idea for a prank that we could use on the Slytherins." That snapped them out of their trance pretty fast.

James, Remus, Peter and Sirius joined Cassi at the table to hear her plan, a plan they wholeheartedly agreed to, pushing the scene that they walked into to the back of their minds planning to question one of them (_cough, cough_ Sirius) later.

And so the plan was set. While the entire school was filled with anticipation of what would surely be an exciting match. For the Marauders, the excitement was even greater as they prepared for the prank that would bring them to a new level of pranking. Until this point, the Marauders' biggest stunt was a charmed suit of armour, now they were going to transfigure the entire Slytherin house and they were only first years. It was an ambitious plan and kept the five (more like 4 since Peter was pretty bad at Transfiguration…well, all magic really) extremely busy looking for spells and practicing in the Room of Requirement.

By Friday they were ready, all that was left was sneaking out to the Pitch to set the spells. They couldn't go in the morning since both teams would be there early to check the conditions and both teams had practices the night before in an effort to keep things fair. Slytherin had the pitch from 3:30-5:30 and Gryffindor had it from 5:30-7:30. The idea was to perform the spells right after Gryffindor's practice and be back in the Common Room by 8, also known as _the-annoyingly-early-curfew. _

At 7:30 the Marauders made their way down to the Pitch, careful to avoid being seen by anyone who would care where they're going. In the distance they could see the dark shadows flying around the Pitch in the artificial light begin to land. One by one the Gryffindor players flew to the ground and headed toward the changing rooms.

"Right on schedule, boys."

The entire Gryffindor team had already retreated into the change rooms by the time the Marauders neared the Pitch. They crept along the shadows under the stands out of the sight of the locker room door. After a few minutes of waiting they heard the Quidditch team talking as they walked back up to the castle, a few more minutes and the Marauders walked out of their hiding spot and over to the Slytherin stands to begin the spells.

They divided the stands into four groups since every seat would have to be done separately and Remus, James, Sirius and Cassi had practiced the necessary spells repeatedly. Each added their own style of Slytherin insults and Gryffindor cheers that would scream from the seats and appear on apparel.

"I'm done, what about you guys?" Remus said joining Peter at the bottom of the stands. Pete had done a couple seats at the bottom and for a fleeting second, all the Marauders pitied the slimy gits that sat in them, though it was a very short moment seeing as the amusement it would cause trumped pity a thousand times.

"Yup, I reckon we should test it." James suggested stepping down to join his friends, Cassi and Sirius following him.

"I knew we were forgetting something."

"We tested all the spells before, James." Remus pointed out though the others still remained unconvinced.

"There's probably something we can test in the locker room, I'll go see." Cassi jogged over to the Gryffindor Locker Rooms since it would be easier to explain if she got caught than going into the Slytherin ones even though those were closer.

The door to the locker room was around a corner just out of sight of the Pitch but anyone coming down from the school could see it. Trying in vain to turn the knob, Cassi found it to be locked and so used _Alohomora _which worked and walked into the room thinking that Hogwarts' security could stand an upgrade. Cassi looked around the room for something, anything that could work and spotting a stack of (clean) towels folded neatly in the back corner by the showers she made her way towards them hearing the sound of the locker room door closing she spun around.

"What're you doing here?" A tall, dark haired boy that looked to be in second or third year and clearly a member of the Quidditch team demanded from her. Cassi smiled at him overjoyed that it wasn't McGonagall and technically she wasn't breaking any rules.

"Same as you" She responded shrugging one shoulder as the boy's eyes narrowed and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Really? Because I'm here getting something I forgot."

"So am I" Cassi responded pleased that she was being completely truthful though in a different sense.

"You're not on the Quidditch Team." The boy said obviously implying that therefore she couldn't have forgotten something that she needed to retrieve from the locker room.

"I never said I was." She replied not elaborating.

"Then why are you here?"

"We went over this already, remember? I'm here to get something I forgot and I never said that I forgot something in here. I simply need a replacement."

"What are you a Slytherin? Are you sabotaging Gryffindor or something?"

"If I was, you'd be body bound or stunned by now, wouldn't you? Because if I was a Slytherin I wouldn't have the time or care to talk to you, I would hex you then obliviate your memory then leave you somewhere in the Forbidden Forest where you would get lost and ultimately miss the match. Thereby causing Gryffindor to forfeit or use a reserve who isn't very good meaning a Slytherin victory. So case and point, I'm not a Slytherin." Cassi finished with a small smirk at the gaping boy. "You're obviously a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team."

"Obviously…Who are you?"

"A Hogwarts student." Cassi replied vaguely as she turned and walked to the towel rack aware of the boy's eyes following her.

"Well that much is obvious, what's your name?"

"I really don't think that's important." She said picking up one of the smaller towels from the rack. "And I'd appreciate it if you just pretended none of this ever happened, I promise I'm not sabotaging Gryffindor or anything that would cause a cancelled game."

"And why shouldn't I go tell McGonagall right now?"

"Because then I'd probably get a detention even though I've done nothing wrong and she'd try to make me tell her why I was out here-the real reason- by taking away house points which does absolutely no one any good because I would never tell her and Gryffindor would end up with negatives. And if she figured it out or something like that, then you will have ruined what quite possibly might be the most entertaining match of Quidditch Hogwarts has ever seen. Oh and I'd do everything I said a Slytherin would do to you since you would get me like a million detentions."

"And if I don't tell her?"

"Then Gryffindor keeps most of its house points-I can't promise that we won't lose some-and you get an awesome match of Quidditch."

"So what exactly are you planning? And why does it involve a towel?"

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out like the rest of the school. And please don't tell McGonagall I've had enough of polishing trophies for one week and I really don't want to miss the match."

"Alright I won't tell, but if Gryffindor wins you've got to come to the party."

"Where else would I be if Gryffindor wins? And if Gryffindor looses it'll suck but the Slytherin fans will still be pretty hilarious." The boy looked like he was going to ask what she was planning again but she spoke before he could. "Patience, wait for tomorrow and you'll know it when you see it. Now I've got to get back to my friends so we don't get caught outside after curfew and we've only got like 5 minutes, so I'll see you around, maybe."

"Yeah, see you around."

"Good luck tomorrow." She said walking around him toward the door.

"Thanks, good luck with making it back on time." The boy answered turning to watch her go, laughing quietly and smiling over her shoulder at his comment.

Cassi ran back to the other Marauders who were laughing about something while they waited apparently forgetting the time. Stopping she threw the towel on one of the seats. The boys stopped their talking and laughing, watching as the originally white towel turned red and gold with a Gryffindor Lion on it.

"Yes it works!" Sirius exclaimed as the five of them exchanged high fives enthusiastically.

"Come on guys we've got to get back we only have like 2 minutes to be back in the tower." That sobered them all up. Taking the same path back up to the castle at a run, hoping that they wouldn't get caught, the Marauders raced through the secret passage ways and corridors, Peter lagging behind like always, trying their hardest to move quickly and quietly.

After narrowly avoiding an encounter with Mrs Norris, they made a mad dash to the Portrait Hole, completely aware of the seconds ticking away.

"Lions" James spluttered the password while gasping for breath at the Fat Lady.

"Nearly out of time, you really sho-" The Fat Lady was about to lecture them when Sirius interrupted.

"LIONS"

"Kids these days…" She muttered but swung open anyway. The Marauders stumbled through the portrait hole and collapsed on their favourite couch in front of the fire.

"Sometimes I wonder why I join you guys…" Remus said slightly out of breath from running the long distance between the Pitch and Common Room.

"Remus, you pretend to be a goodie-goodie but in reality you join us for the same reason we all do." Cassi pointed out a half smile gracing her lips.

"And what reason might that be?" James asked curious what she would answer. You never could really tell with Cassi.

She was spontaneous and her reactions were unpredictable though they were almost always good natured. Cassi enjoyed toying with people, seeing them squirm a bit, it gave her a read on their personality and she would purposely answer questions or ask them in ways that would provoke a reaction. It was pretty enjoyable to watch so long as you weren't her target, then it was difficult to phrase a response that could not be offensive to anyone, which as most people know is pretty much impossible. The boys had learned that Cassi didn't mean anything by it she was just playing around, problem was it took a bit of getting used to so some people thought she was just a bitch which she wasn't, though she didn't care what those people thought of her. In Cassi's opinion, if they didn't want to take a bit of time to get to know her, she didn't want to know them. Plus she was pretty good at sensing people's true intentions so sometimes she was extra bitchy, again fun to watch but not so fun to receive.

"For the love of pranking! That's why we do what we do." She answered now wearing a full out smile, an infectious excitement and enthusiasm plaguing her eyes and entire body. The boys but couldn't help mirror her grin.

"Hey Cass, what took you so long in the locker room?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Oh well, I kind of-sort of got caught by one the Quidditch players…" Cassi retold the story of her encounter with the dark haired boy.

By the end they were all excited for the next day, it seemed that the story reminded them all that the opening match was in only a few hours along with their prank. Sirius knew that this new bloke she talked about was interested in her, basically every guy was, and he couldn't help but hate the thought of her going out with another guy, a guy that was not him. He tried his hardest to push the thought to the back of his mind focusing on the upcoming match and prank though it was a rather vain attempt. Cassi just looked so perfect in the flickering light from the fire and the excitement and happiness in her eyes made it even harder for him to look away and focus on something, anything, else. Eventually they parted ways, Cassi to the girls' dorm and the boys…well to the boys', hoping to calm themselves enough to sleep.

**A/N: REVIEW?**


	34. Game Day Plans

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while, I had a bit of a case of writer's block. But here's the next chapter. Tell me what you think and anything you would like to see happen. **

**Chapter 34: Game Day Plans**

Bright and early Gryffindor Tower was buzzing with excitement. Unable to sleep any longer the Marauder boys were all up and running around the dorm getting ready, even Remus who just wasn't a morning person. Cassi got up too, the other girls still asleep for the most part, and got ready, far to filled with nervous anticipation to sleep. She pulled out all the Gryffindor apparel she had and besides jeans, she was fully adorned in red and gold.

She bounded down the stairs of the girls' dorm and immediately up the stairs to the boys' staircase, accidently bumping into a boy coming down the stairs. Looking up and muttering an apology Cassi realised that she had literally bumped into the boy from last night. He was dressed in Gryffindor's scarlet Quidditch robes, a broom slung over his shoulder and a happily surprised grin on his face.

"I just keep running into you, huh?" He said as Cassi looked up at him with a smile. He was quite a good looking boy, with kind blue eyes and chocolate brown hair.

"If I were a vainer person I might think you're stalking me." The boy chuckled at her comment which was clearly in good humour.

"Or you're stalking me." He added causing Cassi to grin showing agreement. "I'm Logan, by the way." The boy held out his hand which Cassi took.

"I'm Cassi"

"You're coming to the game right, Cassi?"

"Of course, I couldn't miss what promises to be an interesting match."

"Right, you're secret plan…um, I've got to get going to warm up and I'm kind of late, but I'll talk to you later?"

"Sure, go kick some slimy Slytherin arse." Logan chuckled as she smiled at him excitedly.

"Will do." He gave her a wink before walking around her and out the portrait hole.

Even more excited than before, Cassi hurried up the staircase to the boys' dorm and flung open the door.

"Game day boys!" She greeted as the door bounced back from the wall and nearly hit her when she walked through.

The boys all paused mid way through getting ready and looked at her grinning ear to ear, quickly offering up greetings before returning to whatever it is they were doing, for James, Sirius and Peter this meant searching for missing clothing articles while Remus laughed having already finished getting ready. Cassi walked over to where Remus was standing, careful to avoid the boys' mad dash across the room.

"It's been a month and I'm only just starting to get used to them running around like this." Remus said chuckling.

"I know what you mean; they've really got to get more organized."

"You excited for the match?"

"Remy, what kind of question is that? Of course I am."

"Fair enough. So has anyone asked you to the Halloween Dance, I mean, I assume you're not going with Philips…" Remus said somewhat awkwardly as he tried to correct whatever social faux-pa he had made by bringing up the dance and then her ex who she would have gone to said dance with.

"No, I'm not going with _him _and no, no one's asked me to the dance." She said sighing forlornly.

"Oh, um, sorry, I'm sure you'll get asked the blokes are probably just too scared after what Sirius did to the last one." Cassi smiled and chuckled a little.

"It was one punch to the face, it wasn't even that bad, and everyone's all impressed, _I _could have done more damage just with slapping." Remus laughed as the boys finally finished getting their things together.

"What's so funny?" Sirius asked walking over to the two.

"Nothing, are you guys finally ready to go to breakfast?" Cassi said grinning brightly at him a humorous twinkle in her eye.

"Yeah, we're ready, let's go." James answered already heading toward the door with Peter and Remus following quickly.

"Well they left pretty fast." Cassi smiled at Sirius who couldn't help but return the grin as the two began walking toward the door of the dorm.

"So what was Remus really laughing about?"

"It really wasn't anything, all I said was that everyone's so impressed that you punched Carter in the face when it wasn't even that much damage and that I could've done worse just by slapping him." Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"You think you could've done worse, huh?"

"Well, you know a girl on a mission is a dangerous thing, especially me."

"Oh I don't doubt it, Cass." Cassi bumped her shoulder into his good naturedly as they walked down the steps into the Entrance Hall. "The game should be good, huh?"

"Yeah, it should-I smell bacon, come on." With that, Cassi grabbed Sirius' hand and pulled him into the Great Hall and over to the Gryffindor table.

Inside the Great Hall, James, Remus and Peter sat at the Gryffindor table, not bothering to wait for the remaining two Marauders to start eating.

"Do you reckon Sirius will ask her to the dance?" Remus asked the 'her' in question understood to be Cassi.

"I don't know he might need a little _push, _if you know what I mean."

"Shocking as it might be for you, I don't know what you mean." James rolled his eyes at his bookworm friend.

"I mean, he might need a little incentive to ask her to the dance, and the best motive is jealousy." James said looking at Remus like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"So you want another guy to hint at asking her out so that Sirius will become jealous and ask her out? Cassi definitely won't jump on board with this; in fact she'd probably get mad. So who are you going to use to make him jealous, without leading her on?" Remus said still sceptical causing James to frown slightly as he realised the flaw in his plan. "It'd have to be a friend." Remus added.

James smiled deviously at him something that made Remus immediately very wary. "What? Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"You're the friend. You're the friend that'll suggest going to the dance together, just as friends or whatever, it doesn't really matter. But you're the one that'll make Sirius jealous."

"James, he'll _kill_ me! He was ready to rip my head off when we were just hanging out, he will actually kill me!"

"No he won't, he'll just ask Cassi out first." James said shrugging as Cassi and Sirius entered the Great Hall holding hands. "Then again, you might not even have to do anything."

Cassi sat down at the table next to James, pulling Sirius to sit next to her and only then fully realising that she held his hand in her own. She hastily released Sirius' hand and looked away, her cheeks tinged an adorable shade of pink that just about killed Sirius.

"Hey, Remy, pass the bacon."

"Yeah, sure" Remus passed the plate to Cassi, James smirking at Sirius who was staring at Cassi who was adamantly avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"So, have you blokes asked anyone to the dance?" Cassi asked trying to get a conversation started.

"I think I'm going to ask Lily." James said as Sirius, Remus and Cassi looked at him with raised eyebrows. "What?" He asked through a mouthful of unidentifiable food.

"Do you really think that's such a good idea?" Cassi asked biting her bottom lip.

"Yeah, I mean she doesn't exactly like you." Sirius didn't even bother holding back a snigger at Remus' comment. James frowned a bit and stopped eating to look at all of them.

"Thanks guys, you're real supportive." He said sarcastically. "At least I'm actually planning on asking someone, unlike these blokes."

"None of you guys have asked anyone yet? You'd better hurry up and ask someone decent or you'll be forced to take Moaning Myrtle." Cassi teased munching on a piece of bacon.

"Are you going with anyone, Cass?" James asked causing Sirius' head to snap up in interest.

"No one's asked." She said somewhat glumly as she took a drink of Pumpkin Juice. "You know Rebecca and that Marlene McKinnon have been asked by 3 guys each, and now they can't decide who to go with? I haven't even been asked once, besides Carter, but he doesn't count." She said frowning before going back to eating her bacon and scrambled eggs. "What about you Remy?"

James gave Remus a pointed but encouraging look. Remus took a deep breath knowing that he'd probably regret taking part in James' plan later.

"Well, um, I was actually wondering…" Remus began, Sirius' eyes widening in shock and fury as he realised what Remus was going to ask Cassi.

"Why don't we go down to the Pitch now?" He said louder than what would be normally necessary to stop Remus from continuing with his question. James gave a pleased smile to Remus who was looking slightly nervous at Sirius' reaction.

"I haven't finished my breakfast." Cassi said frowning at Sirius.

"Well hurry up, I want good seats." Sirius gave Cassi a smile and took a drink of pumpkin juice but not before glaring momentarily at Remus. Their section of the table lapsed into a tense silence, Sirius glaring at Remus who shot pointed looks at James.

"Alright, what is with you guys? You're all quiet and brooding." Cassi said unable to bear the tension between the boys any longer. That and she had finished her distractingly delicious bacon.

"Nothing" Sirius and Remus muttered, the latter avoiding Sirius' threatening gaze.

"Right, am I supposed to pretend I believe that? It's the bloody first match of the Quidditch season and we are the Marauders that have put into action a pretty awesome prank. So just let whatever it is go and let's have some fun. This is going to be a fantastic day and it's not going to be ruined by something stupid, okay?"

The boys nodded, Sirius stopped glaring at Remus and smiled at Cassi instead.

"Are you ready to go down to the Pitch now?"

"Yup, what about you lot?"

"Yeah, let's get down there and find some good seats." James suggested standing from the table.

The other Marauders rose as well and the five walked excitedly out of the Great Hall and out to the grounds, taking the path down to the Pitch in a much more comfortable silence than before.

"Hey Remy, what were you going to say before? Something you were wondering about…?" Cassi asked as they neared the Pitch.

"Oh, right, I-"

"Cass, where d' you think we should sit?" Sirius cut in redirecting the conversation to the Quidditch match. Cassi's eyes narrowed as she looked between Sirius and Remus curiously and for a few moments it seemed as though she was going to say something about it but thought better of it.

"Well, I would assume in the stands, Sirius, but more specifically than that I don't really have a preference." She gave him a smile to which he rolled his eyes but lead the way up to the stands with Remus and Peter following behind, Cassi fell into step next to James.

"What's going on with them?" She asked quietly so the two in question wouldn't hear.

"What d' you mean?" James asked playing dumb since he hadn't entirely anticipated a response to any of Cassi's questions.

"You know exactly what I mean, what happened between Remus and Sirius, and don't tell me nothing happened because clearly it's something." James stopped walking, turning to face Cassi fully.

"How can you be so observant about the tiniest things but miss something so obvious?" James questioned unconvinced that she could notice changes in people's mood and what caused them but couldn't see that Sirius fancied her.

"What?" Cassi asked frowning in complete confusion. _What the hell is he talking about?_

"Oi, you two, hurry up or we won't save you seats!" Sirius called down to them as James looked over his shoulder at his friend before turning back to Cassi.

"Never mind, okay? Forget I said anything."

"No James, tell me what you meant!"

"Let's go, just forget it."

"James you can't just say something like that and then walk away!" James grabbed her wrist and dragged her up the stairs behind him to the stands.

"Its Quidditch, Cass, follow your own rules and maybe open your eyes to what's right in front of you." He muttered to her under his breath, only releasing her wrist when they had reached the top.

James walked away, taking the seat between Remus and Sirius who looked at her curiously. Cassi walked over and sat down next to Sirius, plastering a smile on her face but still troubled by James' comment.

"Everything alright, Cass?" Sirius asked concern on his handsome face.

"Yeah, of course. Do you know what time it is?"

"Its almost 9, the match should be starting soon. Are you sure everything's fine?" Sirius knew Cassi really well, he could see in her eyes that she was thinking about something, and that hadn't been there before James spoke to her.

"Yes, is everything alright with you and Remus? You seemed to be trying to will him into spontaneous combustion this morning." Sirius chuckled at her comment running a hand through his hair, she knew him just as well as he knew her.

"Don't worry about it Cass, everything will work out."

"That's not very comforting Sirius, can't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"It's the best I can do for now."

"Okay…hey, check out the Slytherins! Don't they just look charming in red and gold?"

"It's definitely an improvement to their wardrobe." All five Marauders laughed, admiring their handiwork and the disgruntled Slytherins.

All around them, fellow Gryffindors marvelled and wondered at how and who turned the Slytherins into epitomes of Gryffindor supporting, red and gold pillars. Even the banner that hung on the Slytherin stands had been transfigured to cheer on Gryffindor or classic slogans like _Slytherins Suck_.

The scarves and mitts that the students sported were bright, vivid Gryffindor colours that once the Slytherin stepped onto the Pitch, could not be removed. Cloaks, sweaters, shirts and even school robes were also changed to Gryffindor colours and logos, with large lions and massive block letters spelling out the house name. Even the seats booed the Slytherins that sat in them and promoted Gryffindors.

At first the Slytherins had tried using every counter-curse, spell and hex they could think of but after a while they gave up, sitting grumpily and glaring at the Gryffindors who took immense pleasure from this.

"Welcome to the OPENING QUIDDITCH MATCH! I'm your commentator Drew Jordan, in case you didn't already know. Before we start today's match I'd just like call everyone's attention to the gorgeous outfits the Slytherins are wearing today, red and gold is all over the stands today." The crowd erupted with applause and cheers for Gryffindor to which the Marauders grinned proudly. "Kudos to whoever pulled that one off, my money's on the first year Gryffindors that charmed that suit of armour earlier this year."

"Mister Jordon, focus on the match, please!" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out on the Pitch.

"Right sorry, Professor. Alright here's the Slytherin Team: Malcolm Bole, Adrian Benson, and Timothy Flint as Chasers, Alec Warrington and Evan Rosier as Beaters, Terence Montague as Keeper and Richard Higgs as Seeker." The Slytherins cheered and the rest of the school booed (including the originally Slytherin Stands), Gryffindors being more liberal with insults than the others, as the Slytherin team flew around the Pitch a couple times.

"And the Gryffindor team this year: Logan Carmichael, Melissa Spinnet, and Patrick Johnson as Chasers, John Delaney and Jacob Kirk as Beaters, Denis Melange as Keeper and Katherine Connolly as Seeker!" The entire Pitch was drowned in the cheers of the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, Gryffindors of course being the loudest. The Slytherin seats and some of the banners screamed support for Gryffindor that rivalled the volume of the fans themselves.

The Slytherin team was-let's just say-less than happy. They looked murderous and there was no doubt that they would take out their anger on the Gryffindors, something that the Marauders had forgot to take into consideration.

The Gryffindor team on the other hand were grinning from ear to ear, laughing and mocking the Slytherins on their lack of support and fans. They taunted with things like: "I guess the other Slytherins finally decided to support a winning team". The Gryffindors were wild with excitement at the misfortune of their rivals and the confident support shown from someone out there in the crowd. The only team member that had any idea who was responsible was Logan, the 2nd year chaser who had met a mysterious girl named Cassi in the locker rooms the night before.

Both teams landed and Madame Hooch walked out onto the field. The captains, Patrick Johnson for Gryffindor and Malcolm Bole for Slytherin, stepped forward.

"Captains, I want a good, clean match from all of you." She said eyeing the Slytherins with a steely gaze. "Shake hands." The two boys obliged, grasping hands. Really it was more like the two boys were trying to break each other's hands. Finally the two let go, neither one showing any sign that they felt pain. "Mount your brooms" Madame Hooch blew the whistle and both teams kicked off from the ground hard rising into the air.

"And their off! Gryffindor in possession Carmichael passes to Spinnet-ooh narrowly avoids a bludger from Warrington-Spinnet to Johnson, back to Spinnet, passes to Carmichael-shoots and scores! 10-love Gryffindor!" The Gryffindors erupted, Cassi, Sirius and James all jumped up cheering and exchanging high fives.

"Slytherin in possession, Flint to Benson, back to Flint-Nice hit from Kirk, that's going to hurt in the morning-Gryffindor back in possession, Carmichael with the Quaffle, and-THAT WAS DELIBERATE! PENALTY, FOUL, THAT WAS DELIBERATE!" Drew yelled after a Slytherin beater, Rosier, flew straight into Logan making him drop the Quaffle. "Penalty shot to Gryffindor, taken by Melissa Spinnet-HA 30-0! TAKE THAT YOU SLIMY-"

"MISTER JORDAN!"

"Sorry professor." Jordan muttered though he clearly didn't mean it. "Slytherin in possession, a nicely aimed bludger from Delaney and Gryffindor takes the Quaffle-Johnson streaking up the pitch, flies left, rolls right, shoots and he SCORES! 40-0 Gryffindor! Does anyone know if actual skill was a factor for the Slytherin Team?"

"Jordan-"

"Alright, alright. So it's Slytherin with the Quaffle, Bole to Flint to Benson, back to Bole, shoots and-THAT'S HOW YOU SAVE A QUAFFLE! NICE ONE MELANGE!"

The game was intense, with both sides playing their hardest to show the school which was better in the age long rivalry, Slytherin or Gryffindor. The chasers zipped through the air using complex manoeuvres and passes. The beaters took every opportunity to smash the bludgers at the opposing team while keeping their own teammates safe. The keepers blocked the Quaffle that was shot at them as best as they could though the Gryffindor keeper was much more successful. Finally, the seekers scoured every part of the pitch for the tiny Golden Snitch.

Then suddenly the Gryffindor Seeker Katherine Connolly pulled into a steep dive, heading directly for the opposite side of the Pitch right above the Slytherin Stands. The Slytherin seeker, Richard Higgs, followed after her though he was further from the snitch than she.

"GO KAT, FLY!" Drew yelled as everyone in the stands held their breath, even the players stopped to watch the two seekers. "COME ON KAT, YOU CAN BEAT THAT SLIMY GIT!" McGonagall didn't even say anything that time as she was too concerned with watching the match.

Finally, her hand closed around the golden orb ending the match. She raised her fist triumphantly, flying to the ground with her teammates to the sound of cheers. Over top of the Pitch, in bright red and gold lights the words (and final score) _Gryffindor Wins 170-20 _were spelled out which created even more applause and cheering. The Marauders jumped up, cheering and hugging each other, complimenting themselves on the stunt they had pulled and not having a detention, or at least not yet.

"AND Gryffindor WINS 180-20!"

The Gryffindor team collided in a group hug as fellow housemates spilled onto the Pitch in victory.

"Victory Party in the Common Room!" One of the players yelled across the pitch, an answering round of cheers erupting from the Gryffindors on the Pitch. The players headed into the locker room and most of the spectators hurried up to Gryffindor Tower in anticipation of the post-game party, the last of them being the Marauders who walked leisurely admiring the remaining Slytherins and the stands that still promoted Gryffindor, and the lights floating over the pitch.

"Chalk another successful prank up for the Marauders." Cassi said grinning fondly at what had begun as her idea.

"And not even a detention." James said almost whimsically at their good fortune.

"But we still got the credit." Sirius added smirking in the general direction of the Slytherin locker rooms.

"What do we do if someone asks about the prank?" Remus asked and they could tell he had been thinking about this for most of the day.

"If you mean a professor, deny, deny, deny; they've got no way to prove it was us. If you mean students hint but don't say anything outright." Cassi said with a small shrug.

"How is it that you think of everything before we do?" James asked as they began walking back to the Castle.

"I'm a girl; we're much smarter than you blokes." She said with a broad grin and a shrug which caused the boys to chuckle and roll their eyes.

"Well, I do say so myself, that was pretty damn impressive." Sirius said turning back to look at the red and gold Pitch. "Now, who's up for a little victory party?"

Laughing the five Marauders walked back to the Common Room, the tension and confusion from earlier in the day completely forgotten. After all, it was Game Day.

**A/N: Tell me what you think and anything you would like to see happen. **


	35. Creepy Hamster

**A/N: Alright i know its been a while (understatement, i know) but in my defence school's been getting busy and i couldn't think of where to go with this chapter. So it's finally done. Let me know what you think. **

**Chapter 35: Creepy Hamster**

In the days following the Quidditch Match, people complimented the Marauders on the prank, particularly the Gryffindor Team even though none of them were specifically told that the Marauders were in fact responsible. Halloween was getting closer, however, and people were more and more consumed with anticipation of the dance, scrambling to find dates and swooning over dresses (I'll bet you can guess which gender I'm referring to, if not…well you're not exactly a Ravenclaw now are you?).

By Wednesday Cassi was pretty much resigned that she wasn't going to have a date to the dance. The fact that everyone was talking about it, what they were thinking of wearing, who they were going with, only made her feel worse. Was she really so bad that not even _one _boy wanted to go with her? Then there was the Hogsmeade trip that was on Saturday. Its sole purpose was to provide an opportunity for everyone to get semi-formal outfits and other things that might be needed for the dance.

Cassi and Lily sat together outside in one of the courtyards, the only ones of their friends to not have dates for Halloween. They were both tired of people talking about the bloody dance and every time someone would talk about it they just wanted to hex them. To avoid any detentions and sending people to the hospital wing they had decided to hide away on one of the more secluded benches that was hidden by shrubbery and trees.

"Do you reckon we should ask boys ourselves?" Lily asked breaking the silence of the garden.

"I'm not sure Lils, who would you ask?" Both girls, if they were being completely honest, were nervous. They didn't really know what to expect, what they were supposed to do. Did they just wait to be asked? Did they ask a boy to the dance? Or did they just go together as friends?

"I don't know, Alice would suggest that you ask Sirius." Lily answered wiggling her eyebrows. Cassi pushed her shoulder gently.

"Yes well, she would also suggest that you go with James, who I might add would love to go with you."

"Ugh, like that would ever happen, he's an arrogant toe-rag."

"Oh he's not that bad. He's not bad at all really, he's actually quite nice. But let's not get into this. What about that Hufflepuff, Chris Friedan? He's pretty good looking and I don't think he's going with someone yet."

"Yeah that's true, and he's nice I got partnered with him the other day in Herbology and I've talked to him in the library…what about that second year, though, Amos Diggory?"

"Ugh, pretty boy and nothing but!"

"No he's not, he's quite nice actually." Cassi scoffed.

"Amos Diggory, now that's an arrogant toe-rag, if you ask me."

"Well no one asked you!" Lily huffed humorously.

"Actually you did like 5 seconds ago." Cassi said dissolving into a fit of giggles at the mock-anger on Lily's face.

"What about that second year, the Quidditch player that you talk to?

"I'm not asking a second year out! What are you crazy?"

"Oh please I'm sure he'd say yes, I haven't seen him talking to many girls, just you and another one that I think one of his friends is dating."

"It's still not going to happen."

"Well then why don't you just go with the Marauders as friends then?"

"Sirius, James and Remus will have no problem getting dates or at least all the girls will want to dance with them and I'd end up stuck with Peter."

"Aren't you _friends_ with Peter?" Lily asked grinning at Cassi from ear to ear.

"Yeah but it doesn't mean I want to be stuck with him all night..._alone." _Cassi shuddered melodramatically at the thought of spending a night alone with Peter and both girls burst out laughing.

"I doubt they'd do that to you." Lily said trying, and failing, to calm herself. From the other side of the courtyard Lily and Cassi heard voices and both girls immediately shut up so they could listen.

"Where the bloody hell is she? We've looked everywhere!"

Cassi immediately recognised the boy's voice and mouthed, "Sirius" to Lily who nodded in understanding.

"Maybe she's snogging some bloke in a broom closet." A second voice answered.

This time, rolling her eyes, Lily mouthed to Cassi, "James".

"This is Cassi we're talking about isn't it?"

At the same time both girls mouthed the identity of the third speaker, "Remus", grinning broadly at each other.

"Oi gits, I'm right here!" Cassi called poking her head out from the corner bush that shielded them from the rest of the courtyard.

"Cassi? Where the bloody hell have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you!" Sirius asked as the three boys walked over, Peter once again MIA (missing in action if you didn't know, again not exactly a Ravenclaw…).

"Lils and I have been here the whole time, where did you think I'd gone?"

"Sirius was worried and we were bored so we came to find you." James answered glancing side ways at Lily and smiling almost self-consciously.

Lily stared at Sirius with eyes slightly narrowed as she thought about him being worried about Cassi. If Alice had been there she definitely would've said something along the lines of 'Aw, that's so sweet' before throwing in an 'I told you so, Lily'. But did Sirius really care about her? Did he love her? Or was this just friendly concern? It had to be. Sirius Black was a womanizer. He snogged and shagged whoever he wants whenever he wants. He would hurt her. He would snog her and move onto someone else…wouldn't he?

Sirius felt oddly uncomfortable under Lily's gaze. Once or twice he caught her eye for a moment and it felt as though she were analysing him, trying to come up with an adequate and reasonable conclusion. He quickly looked away from her and tried to avoid her gaze.

_Why the hell did James have to be a complete arse and say that I was worried about Cass? I __**was **__worried about her, she could've been hexed by Slytherins, or worse, she could've been snogging some bloke. Stop staring at me, Evans! Damn you, James Potter! _

"So what're you doing out here?" Remus asked with a polite smile.

"We got tired of everyone talking about the dance…" Lily began, James giving her his full attention.

"…and we felt like hexing them into next month…" Cassi continued.

"…so we came out here to avoid detentions." Lily finished smiling, though she avoided looking at James.

"Right well, you might want to come back to the Common Room then, curfew is in a few minutes." Remus told them checking his watch.

"Where's Peter?" Cassi asked with raised eyebrows as she stood up. The boys simply shrugged and the five Gryffindors began walking back to the tower. Lily fell into step with Remus and the two began talking about classes and the like. James, Sirius and Cassi walked a few paces behind them.

"Why does she talk to him and not me?" James asked envying the way Remus and Lily conversed easily. "What does he have that I don't?"

"Um, maybe intelligence?" Cassi answered jokingly, James rolled his eyes in response, clearly not amused. "James, you hex and prank her friend for the sake of it, and the way she sees it, you've got an ego the size of Europe, so big in fact that you think you're above doing homework and could care less about class. Remus, on the other hand, goes to the library, class and does homework. He has values that she relates to, so it's easier for Lily to talk to him."

James frowned in thought as they reached the Portrait hole, Lily saying the password and allowing everyone to walk in. Sirius shot Cassi a look that clearly said he thought she was a bit harsh. After they were inside, Lily went to sit with Alice and Marlene at a table. The four Marauders took their customary seats on the couches and arm chairs in front of the Common Room fire.

"Anyone fancy a game of Wizard's chess?" Remus asked after a few moments of silence. Sirius and James both shook their heads and Remus turned to Cassi.

"I don't know how to play." She admitted and Remus' eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Want to learn?" Cassi nodded eagerly, smiling brightly at him, a smile growing on his face too.

"You'd teach me? Brilliant, I've always wanted to."

"You can use my pieces if you want, Cass." James offered grinning at the excitement on her face. _She would be excited about learning chess, too. _He thought, a small chuckle escaping him.

Remus ran up the stairs to the Boys' dorm and returned quickly with a chess board and two sets of pieces; his more well used and beat up than James' fancy ones. He set up the board on the carpet in front of the fire and Cassi joined him on the floor as Remus began the tutorial on each of the pieces and the way they move. James and Sirius sat on the couch watching.

"You should ask her." James said quietly even though there was little chance of anyone overhearing.

"What?" Sirius' eyebrows furrowed at James.

"You should ask Cassi to the dance."

"James-" Sirius began to protest but James cut him off.

"Oh come on Sirius, be honest and just ask her." Sirius didn't respond and looked away from James, his gaze falling on Cassi and Remus. "Look, mate, she's feeling awful because no one's asked her and she's got no one to go with. What do you think is going to happen? It's not like she'll laugh in your face, this is _Cassi_ we're talking about!" James whispered to him, careful to keep his voice lower than anyone else could hear.

"Exactly James, this is Cassi we're talking about." Sirius answered glancing at James before returning to watching Cassi as she frowned in thought staring at the chess board.

"Then why don't we all go together? All the Marauders, you, me, Cass, Remus and Pete? Merlin knows you're the only one who could get a date with someone decent, although, Cassi probably could too if she…" James trailed off seeing Sirius glaring at him. "Point is we could all use someone to go with."

"Check mate." Remus declared as Cassi frowned disappointedly.

"How did that happen?" She asked looking at the board. "I'm rubbish at this game!"

"You'll get better, Cass, you just need more practice." Remus said comfortingly with a smile.

"Another game then?"

"Oh no, I'm way too tired, I'm going to bed." He said standing up and smiling at Cassi's pout.

"James, will you play with me?" She asked turning around to face the boys on the couch with a sweet smile and batting her lashes.

James chuckled running a hand through his hair before answering.

"Not tonight, Cass, I'm joining Remus, it's time for bed." Cassi pouted again as James stood up grinning at her expression. Then she turned to Sirius, the last remaining Marauder in the Common Room.

"Seer, would you play a game of chess with me, pretty please?" She asked drawing out the first syllable of his name.

"Sure, Cassi," Sirius said moving to sit on the opposite side of the chess board from Cassi who smiled happily at him. James shot Sirius a significant look to which Sirius responded by discreetly shaking his head at James.

"Bring the board up when you're done, and try not to stay up too late; we've still got class tomorrow." Remus reminded them before walking up the stairs with James. At this point there were only a few other people in the common room talking amongst each other quietly.

"Go easy on me, okay? I'm still new at this and I really am rubbish."

"You can't be that bad."

"Want to bet?" Sirius chuckled at Cassi's comment as they began their game, Sirius helping Cassi as they played. By the time they finished, Sirius winning, the common room was completely empty and the fire was almost out. Sirius and Cassi sat on the carpet, the chess board still between them, smiling softly.

"You were worried about me today?" Cassi asked recalling what James had said when she had asked why they were looking for her. Sirius' cheeks tinged pink in embarrassment and he rubbed the back of his neck, not meeting her gaze.

"Yeah, well, you know the Slytherins still aren't over the Quidditch match and you didn't tell us that you were going anywhere…" He trailed off and risked a glance at Cassi, expecting to find her laughing at him or indignant at the implication that she could not take care of herself, but when he looked into her eyes they were full of warmth, an almost grateful smile on her lips.

"Thanks, for being concerned, it's nice to know someone cares." Sirius nodded at her explanation and looked down, thinking that no one would care about him the way he cared about her.

For a moment, there was a pause in their conversation as the two of them just sat looking at each other. "Do you like having them around? The fan girls, I mean. Don't you find them…awful sometimes?" Cassi asked quite suddenly. The question caught Sirius off guard and he had to stop and think about an answer.

"It's nice to know someone cares." He said shrugging a shoulder. Once again there was a lull in conversation as Cassi studied his face, his eyes showing tracing of sadness and pain as though someone he loved had let him down, hard.

"James and Remus and Pete and me, we care." She told Sirius, her heart hurting a little that he didn't look comforted and even unconvinced when she mentioned herself. "You know that _I _care, right? You know that if it wasn't for the fact that you'd probably be off snogging some girl, I'd go looking for you if you disappeared like I did today, and I'd still be worried even if you were snogging until I saw you safe. You know that, don't you?"

How could he not know that she cared? Of course she cared! Sirius was like…what _was_ he like to Cassi? He was more than a friend, just a little, maybe? She felt…differently about him than she did the others. Maybe it was because he was _really _good looking, but Cassi could help but think that it was more than that, she didn't think of herself as being that shallow. But then, what was different about Sirius? Why did it almost hurt when she talked about him snogging girls? Was it because she was one of those girls?

What really bothered her was that he didn't think she cared. He had no problem accepting that the boys cared, but he didn't believe that she did. It wasn't like she was mean to him or didn't help him when he needed something. So why didn't he think she cared? Did she seem like a cold, heartless bitch? Surely she didn't…at least not most of the time, and never to Sirius; she l-, she cared about him, a lot.

"Yeah 'course, you're my mate." He said though to Cassi's ears he sounded disappointed. Was that it? He didn't want to be her friend?

"Sirius…you…you don't _have_ to be my friend, if…if you don't want." She stammered, looking down at the chess board in front of her, biting her lip to hold back the unwanted tears that were forming in her eyes at the very prospect of Sirius not wanting to be her friend anymore.

Sirius' eyes widened and his lips parted in shock at her statement. What in Merlin's name would make her think that he wouldn't want to be her friend? So maybe he wanted to be more than friends but he would never compromise his friendship with her. Sirius _loved_ Cassi, he always wanted to be around her and the way she said it too, it was like she was fighting back tears. Sirius moved so he was sitting closer to her, on the side of the chess board and reached out to touch one of her hands that were resting in her lap. Still willing herself not to cry, Cassi adamantly refused to look up at him even though she almost desperately wanted to.

"Cass, how could you…I l-…of course I want to be your friend. Why wouldn't I?" Finally Cassi looked at him and Sirius could see the liquid pooling in her earthy green eyes.

"I-I'm not a-a _normal_ girl." A single tear rolled down her cheek and her lip trembled slightly. "No one wants to even go to a dance with me. What's wrong with me?" Her voice was shaky and low, almost a whisper as she spoke to him, confessing her feelings.

Once again she caught her bottom lip between her teeth as yet another tear rolled down her cheek and looked away from him. Sirius didn't really know what to do. As it was he hated seeing girls cry, but seeing Cassi, the girl he _loved_ cry, was agonizing. Reaching forward, Sirius wiped the tears gently from her cheek with his thumb before guiding her chin up to look at him. And suddenly without any warning at all, the tears that had been forming in her eyes could no longer be held back and they streamed down as she covered her face with hands. Without thinking much Sirius wrapped his arms tightly around her, bringing her body closer to his, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

As her hot tears splashed onto his shoulder and neck soaking his sweater, Sirius tightened his grip on Cassi and her hands moved to his back gripping his sweater in her hands. When her tears waned, neither one made a move to break the embrace and Sirius played with the ends of her hair trying to think of a way to tell Cassi how much she meant to him without actually saying it.

"Cassi," He began in what he thought was a soothing whisper, "There's nothing wrong with you, don't ever think that, okay? There's nothing wrong with you. And who wants to be normal anyway? Not me; normal is boring. Known of us Marauders are normal either, Merlin knows James is probably farthest from it, and Remus is a bit weird sometimes, the way he _likes _going to the library, and Pete- well let's just not even go there." Cassi found herself chuckling a little against his shoulder at the comment about Peter and how he thought Remus weird for liking the library, and Sirius found himself grinning softly at her. He had done something right. He dealt with a crying girl very well, if he did think so himself, and he got her to laugh. He was a shoulder for Cassi to cry on and isn't it always that guy who ends up with the girl in all those books? Not that he's ever read any of them that would be…girly, something Sirius was not.

"Sorry, about, erm, crying and, er, your sweater." Cassi said looking down after removing her arms from him and he rather reluctantly did the same.

"Don't worry about it." Cassi nodded and for a few moments they lapsed into a somewhat awkward silence. "So um, James and I were talking and well we were thinking that all of us could go together to the dance as friends you know? That way we all have people to go with and we're not stuck with people we can't stand. I think it's a good idea." Cassi looked up at him studying his face for a few seconds before responding.

"You have to promise not to leave me alone for more than a minute with Peter, he's a Marauder and all but still he's a bit, er…creepy, sometimes, so you can't leave me alone with him." The seriousness (no pun intended) of her face and almost pleading or demanding tone made him let out a shout, more like a bark honestly, of laughter.

"Really, you're scared of Peter? The guy's like a hamster."

"I'm not scared of Peter, he's creepy…a creepy hamster." The two burst into laughter at the comparison they had made and the sound echoed off the walls of the Common Room. "But, really, you have to swear that you won't leave me alone with him."

"Okay, I swear I'll protect you from the creepy hamster." Sirius told her not bothering to hide his amused smile though his voice was sincere. _I'll always protect you_, Sirius thought silently vaguely wondering if he'd ever tell her that.

Cassi smiled back, she liked the sound of that _I'll protect you_, she felt safe with Sirius, that wasn't new, but the warm tingly feeling she got, that was definitely new.

**A/N: Thanks for reading, hopefully you still remembered what this fic is even about. Review? They're inspiring so thanks to everyone who reviews :)**


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